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The Historians
1. A characteristic concoction
2. Eminent entrepreneurs!
3. How to do it!
4. A fitting tribute
5. When cornered, cry ‘Petty’,
‘Personal’, ‘Uncivilized’
6. ‘…after selling himself in the flesh market’
2. Eminent entrepreneurs!
...............‘This is an old charge which keeps surfacing now and then,’ wrote one of those ‘eminent historians’, K.N. Panikkar, in response to an article of mine – the charge that close to two crores had been spent on the ‘Towards Freedom’ project of the Indian Council of Historical Research, and little had been achieved. ‘About a year back Times of India carried a front page story on this. The historians had then clarified through a public statement published in several newspapers, that they have not drawn any money from the ICHR and that they worked for five years purely in an honorary capacity. When he [that is, me] gets the information from the ministry, if he does, that the editors have not taken any money, I would normally expect Shourie to tender a public apology. But given the intellectual honesty and cultural level reflected in his article, I do not think it would be forthcoming. The alternative of suing for defamation the likes of Shourie is below one’s dignity. But I do expect at least the ministry to make a public statement on the factual position.’ Strong stuff, and definitive, one would think. It turns out that on 17 July 1998, in answer to a question tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the ministry stated that only one part of the project had been completed and published since the original volume of Dr P.N. Chopra. This was the volume – in three parts – by Dr Partha Sarthi Gupta covering 1943–44. In answer to another question, the ministry reported that ‘After publication of the volume he was paid an honorarium of Rs 25,000/- in September 1997.’ Dr Partha Sarthi Gupta, in other words, was the one editor who had completed the work which he had undertaken. For that he had been paid Rs 25,000. The others had not completed the work they had undertaken, they had therefore not been paid the Rs 25,000 which were to be paid to them only when their volumes were completed and published. That is how our friend was proclaiming that they had been toiling as social workers – we have been working in an honorary capacity, we have not taken a penny!
How many staff members and research assistants were used by these scholars? I inquired. What amounts were spent on them? What is the status of the volumes the scholars were to produce? I inquired. The answers of the ICHR for the period 1988–89 to 1997–98:
The moral is plain: do not rely on governments, do not rely on governmental institutions for national tasks; individuals, small groups dedicated to the country – they alone can do them for the country.
...........Later I learnt that the Rs 75,000/- which had been allotted to this ‘eminent historian’ for this project – ‘The Oral History Project’ – had been but a part, a small part of the total take. Bipan Chandra was given in addition rupees two lakh by the ICSSR and rupees four lakh through the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Neither institution received any manuscript in return. Actually this matter had become an issue when time came for this ‘eminent historian’ to retire from the JNU. The university, naturally, could not do without his eminence. A proposal was, therefore, put up to engage him again after retirement. The then registrar of the university pointed out that, according to the university’s rules, the retirement dues, etc., could not be settled, and a contract to engage Bipan Chandra again could not be entered into till the accounts for the four lakh had been submitted, and that Bipan Chandra had studiously neglected to furnish the accounts. No accounts came. The then vice chancellor papered over the matter. entered into till the accounts for the four lakh had been submitted, and that Bipan Chandra had studiously neglected to furnish the accounts. No accounts came. The then vice chancellor papered over the matter. As nothing but nothing had turned up in the ICHR in return for its grant, the second part of my query remained: what action had the ICHR taken in the matter? Eventually I was told, ‘No action has been initiated on this as Dr Bipan Chandra is stated to be still working on the project.’ That was the position nine years after his eminence had collected the money!........
...........commencing from page 16 of the Annual Report for 1973–1974, I wrote… The result? Eventually, the ministry conceded that such a project had indeed been undertaken. Nineteen volumes were to have been produced. The volumes were assigned to different scholars – our eminences as usual led the rest! Rs 12,000 were doled out for each volume. The result? Here, in the words of the ICHR, is a list of the period to be covered by the volume, the scholar to whom it was assigned, the money the scholar collected, and the result:
1. Before 1857: K. Rajayan: Rs 12,000; Submitted but not traceable.
2. 1857–1885: S.R. Mehrotra: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
3. 1885–1886: Bipan Chandra: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
4. 1896–98: Not assigned.
5. 1899–1902: B.R. Grover: Rs 12,000; Submitted and published.
6. 1902–1903: Not assigned.
7. 1903–1905: Not assigned.
8. 1905–1907: Sumit Sarkar: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
9. 1907–1909: Sumit Sarkar: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
10. 1910–1915: M.N. Das: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
11. 1915–1919: T.K. Ravindran: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
12. 1919–1920: V.N. Dutta: Rs 12,000; Submitted and published.
13. 1920–1922: Sita Ram Singh: Rs 12,000, Submitted, under production.
14. 1922–1924: Sreekumaran Nair: Rs 12,000; Submitted and published.
15. 1924–1926: Amba Prasad: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
16. 1927–1929: Bimal Prasad: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
17. 1930–1931: Bimal Prasad: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
18. 1932–1934: Bipan Chandra: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
19. 1934–1937: Gopal Krishna: Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
As you read the amounts, do remember that they were paid out in the mid-1970s, when they amounted to much, much more than they do in these days of scams.
.........What about the ‘Economic Data and Statistics Project,’ which was listed with such fanfare in the Annual Reports till some years ago? I asked. Six volumes were to be produced under it, the ICHR wrote. The authors, the subjects they were to cover in the volume assigned to them, the money which was paid to them, and the outcome, in the words of the ICHR, are as follows:
B.B. Chaudhuri: ‘Agriculture, Rent and Revenue’; Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
S. Bhattacharya: ‘Financial and Currency Policies’; Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
Surendra Gopal: ‘Trade (inland and foreign) in the 17th and 18th Centuries’; Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
Nilmoni Mukherjee: ‘Trade (inland and foreign) in 19th and 20th Centuries’; Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
A.K. Bagchi: ‘Indian Industries (1860–1939)’; Rs 12,000; Not submitted.
V.B. Singh: ‘Labour, Prices, and Wages (1914–45)’; Rs 12,000;
Submitted but not traceable. In a word, as against six volumes which were to have been published, not one has been published. The money having been disbursed, the project just disappeared from the radar screen!
The ICHR eventually disclosed that in fact authors were paid ‘a lump sum for translation rights’: Rs 1,000 per language per volume if the book was more than 200 pages, and Rs 500 per language per volume if the book was less than 200 pages. Hence, R.S. Sharma got a total of Rs 47,000 for his books; Bipan Chandra, Rs 14,000; Irfan Habib, Rs 11,000; Romila Thapar, Rs 12,000….
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