A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books
I begin by statting that professor Romila Thapar is one of India's most outsytning scholars and as a Historian she has substatial contribution to her credit. I am familiar with her work ans can say with a degree of conficence that Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas and her most recent Past Before Us will remain enduring works for some years to come. Thugh she does not belong to the Fernand Braudel type of Historiography which was both challenging and inventive, Thapar did introduce a distict methodological armature to the study of early India. She was a student of A L Bashyam and took her PhD under his suprevision. Along with her were R S Sharma, the reputed Maxist historian and Dr D Devahuti the celebrated author of Harsha A Political Study. The fact is that Dr Devahuti who was far more talented both as a Historian and as a teacher was percecuted by the Marxist goons who taught in JNU and Delhi University and drove this great histoan to death. My complaint is that when D Devahuti was being tortured to the point of suicide the like of Romila Thapar did not utter a single whimper of protest. Hence, I do have the firm convictin that being a part of the cabal of so called leftist historians, Romila Thapar was quite content to see her friend and shishya of the same Guru killed. She lacks a small detail called character--stand up for a colleague who is being targetted.
Niw waht are Romila Thapar's contibution to Indian Historiography. There is no doubt that she and Sharma not quite in command either of Epigraphy or Sanskrit relied primarily on secondary data. For Thapar the field had been cleared by Sten Konow and D C Sircar who translated and published Ashokan Inscriptions. Even the one stray Aramaic Inscription of Ashoka was translated by yet another of Bahshyam's student, A K Narain. R S Sharma studied the Shudra caste and assimilated all social groups who were not disctinctly Brahmin or Khatriya as Shudras. This contradiction he later tried to expalin away by stating very ingeneously that Land Grants led to the proliferation of castes.
Romila Thapar, on the other hand, directed her attention to the rather tragic encounter between the Turks and the Indians. Her Somnath: Many Voices of History attempted an analysis of the contradictory evidence pertaining to the desctruction of the Somnath Temple. Conceding that the evidence is contradictory does not preculde the historical reality of the destrcution of the Somanth Temple. The record of Turkish/Islamic invasions not only in India but al;so Persia and other parts of Asia are replete with instances of wanton dececration of religious structures. Romila does not care to answer the question: Why should the Turks behave differently here. The need to fabricate a politcally correct version of History runs right through the works of Thapar. And the Western Academia obviously lapped up her work because it confirmed their preconceived notions of Islamic history.
JNU Administration has asked for the CV of Romila Thapar in the same manner in which it has asked for the CVs of all Professors Emeritus above the age of 75. Such is the sense of entitlement that Romila Thapar has refused to furnish her CV. In the Press the strident Leftists put out their argument that Romial is being singled out. This is just not true. All Professors above the age of 75 are being reviewed and Romila also falls within that age range. Her refusal to give the CV to the authorities bespeaks of unmistakable sense of entitlement and arrogance.
The real reason why the image of Romial Thapar took a solid beating is due to the fact that she supported a JNU leader, Kanaiya Kumar who was accused of several indecent act on the campus by his female colleagues and pf course, he won notoriety all over Inidia by shouting the infamous slogan, Tukde Tukde Kar denge, Inshaallah, Isnshaallah. A historian of her stature should not have rubbed shoulders with the likes of Kanaiya Kumar who went on to lose his deposit in the Begusarai MP election in May 2019.
Romial Thapar comes from an elite background. Born to wealth privilge and social status, her concern for the poor and the deprived sound hollow.
I begin by statting that professor Romila Thapar is one of India's most outsytning scholars and as a Historian she has substatial contribution to her credit. I am familiar with her work ans can say with a degree of conficence that Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas and her most recent Past Before Us will remain enduring works for some years to come. Thugh she does not belong to the Fernand Braudel type of Historiography which was both challenging and inventive, Thapar did introduce a distict methodological armature to the study of early India. She was a student of A L Bashyam and took her PhD under his suprevision. Along with her were R S Sharma, the reputed Maxist historian and Dr D Devahuti the celebrated author of Harsha A Political Study. The fact is that Dr Devahuti who was far more talented both as a Historian and as a teacher was percecuted by the Marxist goons who taught in JNU and Delhi University and drove this great histoan to death. My complaint is that when D Devahuti was being tortured to the point of suicide the like of Romila Thapar did not utter a single whimper of protest. Hence, I do have the firm convictin that being a part of the cabal of so called leftist historians, Romila Thapar was quite content to see her friend and shishya of the same Guru killed. She lacks a small detail called character--stand up for a colleague who is being targetted.
Niw waht are Romila Thapar's contibution to Indian Historiography. There is no doubt that she and Sharma not quite in command either of Epigraphy or Sanskrit relied primarily on secondary data. For Thapar the field had been cleared by Sten Konow and D C Sircar who translated and published Ashokan Inscriptions. Even the one stray Aramaic Inscription of Ashoka was translated by yet another of Bahshyam's student, A K Narain. R S Sharma studied the Shudra caste and assimilated all social groups who were not disctinctly Brahmin or Khatriya as Shudras. This contradiction he later tried to expalin away by stating very ingeneously that Land Grants led to the proliferation of castes.
Romila Thapar, on the other hand, directed her attention to the rather tragic encounter between the Turks and the Indians. Her Somnath: Many Voices of History attempted an analysis of the contradictory evidence pertaining to the desctruction of the Somnath Temple. Conceding that the evidence is contradictory does not preculde the historical reality of the destrcution of the Somanth Temple. The record of Turkish/Islamic invasions not only in India but al;so Persia and other parts of Asia are replete with instances of wanton dececration of religious structures. Romila does not care to answer the question: Why should the Turks behave differently here. The need to fabricate a politcally correct version of History runs right through the works of Thapar. And the Western Academia obviously lapped up her work because it confirmed their preconceived notions of Islamic history.
JNU Administration has asked for the CV of Romila Thapar in the same manner in which it has asked for the CVs of all Professors Emeritus above the age of 75. Such is the sense of entitlement that Romila Thapar has refused to furnish her CV. In the Press the strident Leftists put out their argument that Romial is being singled out. This is just not true. All Professors above the age of 75 are being reviewed and Romila also falls within that age range. Her refusal to give the CV to the authorities bespeaks of unmistakable sense of entitlement and arrogance.
The real reason why the image of Romial Thapar took a solid beating is due to the fact that she supported a JNU leader, Kanaiya Kumar who was accused of several indecent act on the campus by his female colleagues and pf course, he won notoriety all over Inidia by shouting the infamous slogan, Tukde Tukde Kar denge, Inshaallah, Isnshaallah. A historian of her stature should not have rubbed shoulders with the likes of Kanaiya Kumar who went on to lose his deposit in the Begusarai MP election in May 2019.
Romial Thapar comes from an elite background. Born to wealth privilge and social status, her concern for the poor and the deprived sound hollow.
