Historians ask ICHR to apologise

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 19. Prominent historians of the country today demanded an unconditional public apology from the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) for its attack on the academic integrity of the late Prof. Partha Sarathi Gupta, editor of a couple of volumes of the Council's `Towards Freedom' project. They dubbed it as part of the ongoing effort to doctor history to suit the Hindutva agenda.

Among the historians who made the demand include Prof. K. N. Panikkar and Prof. Sumit Sarkar whose works on the same project were recently recalled from the publishers, purportedly for ``perusal of the Council/Review Committee.''

Referring to their own bitter experience, Prof. Panikkar said the ICHR Chairman, Mr. B. R. Grover, either tender a public apology or resign from office for his ``irresponsible statements''.

Addressing a press conference, the historians questioned unwarranted defamation of a historian ``who is not even alive to defend himself''. In the interview, the ICHR official had said Prof. Gupta's book was full of howlers. ``When asked to point them out, he said it had reduced Gandhi to a footnote and did not have an index and a list of contents,'' Prof. Panikkar said.

Countering each allegation `point-by-point' - with some help from Prof. Gupta's historian wife, Prof. Narayani Gupta of Jamia Millia Islamia - Prof. Panikkar said `Towards Freedom: Documents on the Movement for Independence in India (1943-44)' ``has a detailed list of contents''. ``If there is no index, it is because it would require a separate volume by itself. As for mention of Gandhi, there is a chapter that runs into 50 pages besides 105 documents relating to him. It is inconceivable that a volume dealing with the freedom struggle should make no mention of Gandhi.'' About his and Prof. Sarkar's volumes, Prof. Panikkar said there was no truth in Mr. Grover's contention that they had sent the volumes to the publishers without ICHR's knowledge.

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