IIT Hyderabad hosts first Human Library

Hyderabad: The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, hosted its first Human Library event on Sunday. The idea of the Human Library was born in the year 2000, when Ronni Abergel, a social activist, launched it in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Human Library now has around 600 book depots worldwide. The Hyderabad chapter was founded by Harshad Fad.

Individuals from stigmatised sections of society, who are stereotyped on the basis of their ethnicity, religion, sexuality, disability, occupation, social status or lifestyle, volunteer as ‘books’ in this library. Readers are free to choose these human books from a catalogue. The books then share their life experiences with a group of readers and an interactive session follows.

IIT Hyderabad hosted a total of 12 books in collaboration with the Hyderabad chapter of the Human Library. The books ‘Chains of Freedom’ and ‘Price of Smiling’ are popular with the readers. 

Professor Haripriya Narasimhan, head of the department of liberal arts, IIT Hyderabad, said, “The Human Library is one such event which will enable young minds on campus to understand the deep-rooted prejudices that exist and also how the human spirit allows us to overcome these differences.” 

The Department of Liberal Arts endeavours to expose students to different perspectives of our lives as experienced by ordinary people, so that they can locate their disciplinary practices and objectives within the larger society. The Human Library is one such event which will enable the young minds on campus to understand the deep-rooted prejudices that exist and also how the human spirit allows us to overcome these differences.''