Romila Thapar appointed Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South at Library of Congress

Tue Apr 29 15:47:43 UTC 2003

Dear Dr.Hock,
I remember our meeting at Vienna in 1990 at the WSC. I am sure that the concerted effort by members
and sympathizers of the Sangh Parivar to get Professor Thapar's Kluge  Chair at the Library of Congress rescinded and to nominate Koenraad  Elst instead, has to be defeated.What  am I to do in this connection? To whom shall I inform the fact that Dr.Romila Thaper is the correct person to hold that post?Let this discussion be forwarded to those concerned.
K.Maheswaran Nair
Professor of Sanskrit and Director
Centre for Vedanta Studies
University of Kerala
Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

----- Original Message -----
From: Hans Henrich Hock <hhhock at UX1.CSO.UIUC.EDU>
Date: Monday, April 28, 2003 9:58 pm
Subject: Re: Romila Thapar appointed Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South at Library of Congress

> Dear Fellow Indologists,
>
> As some of you may know, there is now a concerted effort by members
> and sympathizers of the Sangh Parivar to get Professor Thapar's Kluge
> Chair at the Library of Congress rescinded and to nominate Koenraad
> Elst instead.  See the two excerpts from the WAVES list below.  The
> attacks on Professor Thapar are, as usual, vicious and without any
> scholarly foundation.  However, to judge by what happened last year,
> when a screening of Anand Patwardhan's documentaries in New York was
> (temporarily) canceled because of a right-wing signature campaign, we
> should probably not take this attack lightly.  I would encourage all
> of our members to let the Library of Congress know that we support
> Professor Thapar's appointment and strongly deplore the right-wing
> signature campaign against her.
>
> I know, we are trying to keep politics off our list, and with good
> reason.  This, however, is an attack on academic freedom and on
> scholarship in general. So I hope I have your indulgence in bringing
> this particular issue to your attention.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Hans Henrich Hock
>
>
> ****************************
> WAVES list, "Digest Number 145"
>
> Message: 1
>    Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 12:24:34 -0700 (PDT)
>    From: Jai Bharat Mata <vandemataram1082003 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Save ancient Bharat
>
>
> It is a great travesty that Romila
> Thapar has been appointed the first holder of the Kluge Chair in
> Countries and Cultures of the South at the Library of
> Congress.
>
> In regards to India, she is an avowed antagonist of
> India's Hindu civilization. As a well-known Marxist,
> she represents a completely Euro-centric world view.
> I fail to see how she can be the correct choice to
> represent India's ancient history and civilization.
> She completely disavows that India ever had a history.
>
>
> Just as the Europeans discredited the American
> Indian's land claims by ignoring that they represented
> a unique civilization with a wholesome variety of
> distinct linguistic and cultural traits, Thapar has
> long expounded the same ignorant view of India's
> unique history and civilization.
>
> The ongoing campaign by Romila Thapar and others to
> discredit Hindu civilization is a war of cultural
> genocide. By your unfortunate selection of R.Thapar
> for the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the
> South at the Library of Congress, America is now aiding and
> abbeting this effort.
>
> The result of her "Historical Consciousness in Early
> India" is already a foregone conclusion. She will of
> course attempt to show that Early India had no
> historical consciousness.
>
> Why waste our American resources on a
> Marxist idealogical assault on Hindu
> civilization?Hinduism is the world's most ancient,
> ongoing and largest cultural phenonmenon. Such a long
> lived civilization surely has alot to teach the world.
> So why support its denigration? As a Friend of India, I
> protest this appointment.
>
> Sincerely,
> The Undersigned
>
>
>
> http://www.petitiononline.com/108india/petition.html
>
>
> *************************************************
>
> From WAVES list, Digest Number 147 (note especially second excerpt)
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 03:30:10 -0000
> From: "mkelkar2003"
> Subject: Romila Thapar's appointment to Library of Congress opposed
>
> Romila Thapar's appointment to
> Library of Congress opposed
>
> April 25, 2003 05:33 IST
>
> A petition is circulating on the Internet against the appointment of
> Professor Romila Thapar as First Holder of the Kluge Chair in
> Countries and Cultures of the South at the Library of Congress.
>
> The petitioners allege that she is a Marxist and anti-Hindu and it is
> a waste of US money to support a Leftist.
>
> The Librarian of Congress, James H Billington, appointed Thapar last
> week and she has already started work, Robert Saladini, a spokesperson
> for the library, said. He said he has no information on the petition.
>
> The petition can be viewed at:
> http://www.petitiononline.com/108india/petition.html
>
> The holder of the chair, which is located in the John W Kluge Center
> of the Library of Congress, pursues research on the regions of Africa,
> Latin America, West Asia, South and Southeast Asia, or the islands of
> the Pacific including Australia and New Zealand, using the immense
> foreign language collections in the specialised reading rooms of the
> Library of Congress.
>
> Thapar will spend ten months at the John W Kluge Center pursuing
> 'Historical Consciousness in Early India' as her area of research.
>
> Thapar, emeritus professor of Ancient Indian History at Jawaharlal
> Nehru University in New Delhi, who has served as visiting
> professor at
> Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania, is an authority
> on Indian history.
>
> The author of many seminal works on the history of ancient India, her
> volume of the 'Penguin History of India' has been continuously in
> print since 1966. Her latest publication is 'Early India: From the
> Origins to AD 1300'. Other recent works are 'History and Beyond' and
> 'Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History'.
>
> She has held many visiting posts in Europe, the United States and
> Japan. She is an Honorary Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford,
> and at
> the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She
> has honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago, the Institute
> National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales in Paris, the
> University of Oxford and the University of Calcutta.
>
> Through a generous endowment from John W Kluge, the Library of
> Congress established the center in 2000 to bring together the world's
> best thinkers to stimulate, energise, and distil wisdom from the
> library's rich resources and to interact with policy makers in
> Washington, DC.
>
> The center houses five senior Kluge Chairs.
>
> The petitioners say: "It is a great travesty that Romila Thapar has
> been appointed the first holder of the Kluge Chair.
>
> "In regards to India, she is an avowed antagonist of India's Hindu
> civilization as a well-known Marxist. She represents a completely
> Euro-centric worldview. I fail to see how she can be the correct
> choice to represent India's ancient history and civilization.
>
> "She completely disavows that India ever had a history. The ongoing
> campaign by Romila Thapar and others to discredit Hindu civilization
> is a war of cultural genocide. By your unfortunate selection of
> Thapar, America is now aiding and abetting this effort."
>
> The petition has 133 signatures already. One of the signatories, Hari
> Singh, said: "The comments from Ms Thapar are disgusting and are
> reflection of her ignorance of Indian History."
>
> Venkatesh, another signatory, commented, "It's a shame to the USA &
> Indian govt. that a Communist like Romila Thapar is having a free
> run."
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> ________________________________________________________________________
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 04:05:38 -0000
> From: "mkelkar2003"
> Subject: Online petition to Support Dr. Koenraad Elst for the
> Kluge Chair
>
> An online petition to Support Dr. Koenraad Elst for the Kluge Chair
>
> http://www.petitiononline.com/elst1959/petition.html
>
>
> *************************************************************
>
>
>
> >April 17, 2003
> >
> >Romila Thapar Named as First Holder of the Kluge Chair in
> Countries and
> >Cultures of the South at Library of Congress
> >
> >Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed Romila
> Thapar as
> >the first holder of the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the
> >South at the Library of Congress. The holder of this chair, which is
> >located in the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress,
> pursues>research on the regions of Africa, Latin America, the
> Middle East, South
> >and Southeast Asia, or the islands of the Pacific including Australia
> >and New Zealand, using the immense foreign language collections
> in the
> >specialized reading rooms of the Library of Congress.
> >
> >As occupant of the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the
> South,>Thapar will spend ten months at the John W. Kluge Center
> pursuing>"Historical Consciousness in Early India" as her area of
> research.>
> >Romila Thapar, emeritus professor of Ancient Indian History at
> >Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Dehli, who has served as visiting
> >professor at Cornell University and the University of
> Pennsylvania, is a
> >recognized authority on Indian history. The author of many
> seminal works
> >on the history of ancient India, her volume of the Penguin
> History of
> >India has been continuously in print since 1966. Her latest
> publication>is "Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300." Other
> recent works are
> >"History and Beyond," "Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian
> History,">and "History and Beyond." In her published works, Thapar
> has pioneered
> >both the study of early Indian texts as history and the
> integration of
> >the critical use of archaeology with written sources.
> >
> >During her illustrious career, Thapar has held many visiting
> posts in
> >Europe, the United States and Japan. She is an Honorary Fellow at
> Lady>Margaret Hall, Oxford, and at the School of Oriental and
> African Studies
> >(SOAS), University of London. She has honorary doctorates from the
> >University of Chicago, the Institut National des Langues et
> >Civilisations Orientales in Paris, the University of Oxford and the
> >University of Calcutta.
> >
> >Through a generous endowment from its namesake, the Library of
> Congress>established the John W. Kluge Center in 2000 to bring
> together the
> >world's best thinkers to stimulate, energize, and distill wisdom from
> >the Library's rich resources and to interact with policymakers in
> >Washington, D.C. The Kluge Center houses five senior Kluge Chairs
> >(American Law and Governance, Countries and Cultures of the North,
> >Countries and Cultures of the South, Technology and Society, and
> Modern>Culture); other senior-level chairs (Henry A. Kissinger
> Chair, Cary and
> >Ann Maguire Chair in American History and Ethics, and the Harissios
> >Papamarkou Chair in Education); and nearly 25 post-doctoral fellows.
> >
> >For more information about the Kluge Chair in Countries and
> Cultures of
> >the South or any of the other fellowships and grants offered by
> the John
> >W. Kluge Center, contact the Office of Scholarly Programs,
> Library of
> >Congress, 101 Independence Avenue S.E, Washington, DC 20540-4860;
> >telephone (202) 707-3302, fax 202-707-3595.
> >
> >John W. Kluge Center website:  www.loc.gov/kluge
> >
> >Contact:
> >Helen Dalrymple (202) 707-1940
> >Robert Saladini (202) 707-2692
>