Historians condemn JNU’s decision to seek Thapar’s CV

KOCHI

: In the wake of JNU having asked eminent historian Romila Thapar, who has been a strong critic of the Centre’s policies, to submit her CV to allow the varsity to decide whether she should continue as a professor emeritus there, leading

historians

and academicians in Kerala have condemned the move and called the decision ludicrous.


They said that an emeritus position is an honour conferred by the university on a retired professor in appreciation of her outstanding contribution to the discipline and research. Hence, the letter that a committee is to examine the CV of Professor Thapar is an impertinent decision without understanding the nature of the honorary post.

“Thapar had retired from the university in 1991 and was made professor emeritus two years later, this was not done as a favour to her, but was the most-deserving recognition of her works. JNU’s decision is insulting,” said renowned historian K N Panikkar.

They further said that rechecking the eligibility of Thapar as Professor Emeritus, especially when she dedicated her life to historical research by producing a quantum of writings in the form of articles and books post official retirement from the varsity is a sin against academics. P M Rajan Gurukkal, Kerala state higher education council vice-chairman and president of Kerala History Congress, said that Thapar is too big to be assessed by a committee. “JNU asking the CV of Romila Thapar, to whom along with a few others the institution owed its fame, is a ponderous paradox. It is all the more ludicrous when the scholar is a world-renowned historian, a widely-cited author of several books of intellectual depth and a rare scholar honoured by prestigious awards like the Kluge Prize. I pity the ignorance of those who requested her CV,” he said.

Sebastian Joseph, assistant professor in History at Aluva UC College and academic coordinator, said that Kerala History Congress, JNU’s committee is not competent in assessing Thapar’s academic credentials .

“It is undoubtedly an attempt by people with vested interests to destroy, JNUs’ Centre for Historical Studies (CHS), considered to be the epitome of scientific and objective historical research, to which Thapar has contributed a lot through unveiling the various distortions in Indian history. The decision is part of the ongoing hunt of academicians who have raised their voices against Fascist forces.” Joseph said. Gopakumaran Nair, head of History department, University College, Thiruvananthapuram and general secretary, Kerala History Congress, called into question the committees’ capacity to review Thapar’s eligibility when their own credentials are incomparable to hers.

“It is a shame to the fraternity of historians in India. JNU’s decision is against fair intellectual practices in India,” he said.

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