10/23/2023 0 Comments Dragon school, oxford alumniThe boarding house was named Gunga Din almost 80 years ago, by the then headmaster 'Hum' Lynam. In the final lines, the soldier regrets his previous abuse of Din and admits that he is by far “the better man”. Kipling’s poem, published in 1890, is written from the point of view of a British soldier in India, who tells of an Indian water-carrier named Gunga Din who, after the narrator is wounded in battle, saves his life, only to be shot and killed. "Kipling's poem was of its time and it is no longer appropriate to continue using the name Gunga Din." "Such potentially offensive language is against the Dragon's ethos of inclusivity and diversity. "Sadly, the term 'Gunga' has now become derogatory, and even used as a racial slur. They said: "Hum chose Gunga Din as the name given to the boys’ boarding house to highlight the higher ideals of equality, fairness and human dignity these align with today’s core Dragon values of Kindness, Courage and Respect. In a letter to all Dragon School alumni, including the actors Emma Watson and Tom Hiddleston, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, the Dragon School's governors explained the decision to remove the name, made famous in one of Rudyard’s Kipling’s most loved poems. The move follows that of Edinburgh University in renaming its David Hume Tower over the philosopher’s “racist” views. The decision to change the name of the senior boys' boarding house from Gunga Din to Dragon House has now prompted an angry backlash from old boys who accuse it of kowtowing to modern attempts to “obliterate the past”. However, the fee-paying school has found itself embroiled in a very 21st century culture war after taking what it thought was the sensitive step of renaming one of its houses over its racist connotations. As alma mater to a long line of illustrious alumni, Oxford’s Dragon School may have considered itself above the fray of modern controversies.
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