Archaeologist and historian Arvind P. Jamkhedkar will be the next Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).
He will replace Prof. K. Sudershan Rao, whose term as ICHR chief was mired in controversy. The post fell vacant after Prof. Rao’s retirement.
Prof. Jamkhedkar is at present Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, known in academic circles for its archaeology department.
He completed his doctorate in Ancient Indian Culture from Deccan College in 1966, after having earned a masters degree in Sanskrit from the University of Pune in 1960. Titled ‘Cultural History from the Vasudevahindi’, his thesis was a study of the Jain Prakrit text Vasudevahindi .
Prof. Jamkhedkar, who taught at Dhule, Nagpur and Mumbai, was vice-president of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai from 2007 to 2013. He is also editor of the Journal of Asiatic Society of Mumbai .
Prof. Jamkhedkar was selected as National Lecturer in Archaeology by the University Grants Commission in 1984. He has published 13 monographs/contributions to excavation reports and 50 research articles, apart from about 20 articles in Marathi. As an archaeologist, Prof. Jamkhedkar has conducted 19 excavations at different sites in Maharashtra.
Critics had claimed that the former ICHR chief, Prof. Sudershan Rao, who had taught at Kakatiya University, Warangal, did not have peer-reviewed publications and was not a suitable candidate for the prestigious post. During his tenure, he had also announced a plan to investigate whether the Ram Sethu was “man-made” or “natural”.
