Nearly 300 university teachers, research students and academics have expressed concern at the turn of events at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) that led to the >resignation of director Mahesh Rangarajan . A letter signed by leading historians and scholars from universities abroad and home has sought to set the record straight on what the museum represents.
“NMML’s collections and activities are not limited to Nehru’s legacy: in fact, the collection of papers, letters and interviews preserved there embraces an array of distinguished personalities across the spectrum of public life,” the letter says.
Some of the signatories to the letter are: Neeladri Bhattacharya, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Paula Chakravarty, Gallatin School & Department of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University, Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University, New York, Sukanta Chaudhuri, Department of English, Jadavpur University, Francis Cody, Asian Institute and Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Pradip K. Datta, Department of Political Science, Delhi University, Rohit De, Department of History, Yale University, Harald Fischer-Tiné, Modern Global History, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Stephen Hughes, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Janaki Nair, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Anand Pandian, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
They also have highlighted the various acquisitions made in the last four years which include a spectrum of historians and scholars: D. D. Kosambi, scholar Amrita Rangaswamy, Hindi journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik, Hindi novelist and dramatist Upendranath ‘Ashk’, scientists such as Professor Yash Pal and Dr. S. Varadarajan, naturalist M. Krishnan, diplomats such as Rikhy Jaipal, Rashid Ali Bey and Subimal Dutt, industrialist Rahul Bajaj, economists such as Professor S. Guhan and Arun Bose, literary scholar and activist G. N. Devy, political figures like Hardwari Lal, and marine archaeologist S. R. Rao.
The scholars have urged citizens to protect the space for democratic discussion, dissent and minority views at these sites which exist for the exchange of ideas. It is equally important that the institutions are run by people who have an independent standing and sound credentials in their field and be given the room to work creatively while keeping their intellectual and professional dignity intact, the scholars have said.
