Should you walk down the corridors of the sprawling Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS) at Salt Lake City, on any given day, do not be surprised if you are greeted by rows of locked rooms of scholars, vacant lanes between bookshelves, and a bleak air of emptiness. For over a year, the MKAIAS, inaugurated with much fanfare by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to delve deep into region-specific studies, has stopped functioning for all practical purposes.
Since August 2015, the institute has been without a Chairman, an Executive Council (EC) and a Society, bereft of members selected by the Government of India. Thus, the MAKAIAS cannot advertise fellowships, decide on term extension of scholars and interview fresh researchers. It has not been able to continue its key work: publication of monographs and books. The fellows, who are “out of job” according to a letter to the Chief Minister, now fear it’s curtains for the prestigious region-specific research institute of eastern India.
The reason, as explained by the former MAKAIAS Chairman, Sitaram Sharma, is the inability of the Ministry of Culture, under which the institute falls, to appoint a Chairman, an 11-member EC or a 30-member Society, selected by the Centre. “I do not know why the Government of India [GoI] is so reluctant to appoint the bodies, while providing a reasonable budget,” said Mr. Sharma.
The State government gets to name two members to the EC, the Central government has four. For its part, the State has selected its members; not so the Central government. As the president of the Society, Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi has written to the Ministry for a solution. The Maulana Azad fellow granted to the former Secretary of Ministry of External Affairs, Krishnan Srinivasan, has also written to the Prime Minister and received a reply. “But he refused to accept the reply as it was sent by an officer of the rank of Under Secretary, which a former Foreign Secretary cannot accept,” sources told The Hindu. Sources in the institute told The Hindu that the paralysis arises from the rivalry between Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma and the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. “Dr. Sharma wants to give Sitaram Sharma another term, while the State unit of the BJP feels it should have its representative as the Chairman because Mr. Sharma was appointed by the Congress,” an official said.
Mr. Sharma refutes this. “While I share a very cordial relationship with the Minister, I have no idea of this BJP infighting. During my tenure [mid-term, 2013- 15] I received full cooperation from the Ministry and the Minister,” he said.
