A larger than life renaissance character who loved kormas and kalejis . That is the way noted historian Mushirul Hasan’s family and friends remembered him at a memorial service here on Saturday.
Former Vice-President Hamid Ansari said, “Hasan personified life and lent vibrancy to whatever he touched. He was an institution builder, humane and compassionate. He did not consider discussion a stumbling block but an indispensable preliminary. He was a devotee of expanding horizons.”
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Stating that Hasan was a “proverbial prince,” Prabhat Patnaik said, “He was the last institution builder that we had. Even when the dark days that our universities are facing today are over, you will never have anyone like him. He added grandeur to existence, meant what he said and kept his word.”
Calling Hasan a “younger brother”, senior journalist Saeed Naqvi said he was was “all of mankind’s epitome.”
Jamia Milia Islamia university, where Hasan served as Vice-Chancellor, was “central to his being and his home,” said senior journalist Seema Mustafa.
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“His experiences with fundamentalists from both sides never left him bitter. He was a historian who brought history alive beyond books. We have missed his strong voice in the last four years, when we needed it the most,” said Ms. Mustafa.
Jayati Ghosh said, “He was deeply cultured, extremely cosmopolitan but deeply rooted at the same time. He had a quiet courage but it was an extraordinary courage.”
Stating that Hasan was a “towering intellectual who affected all,” Kamal Mitra Chenoy said he continued to teach the “real history of India” and brought in “music and poetry in his writings.”
Mushirul Hasan passed away on December 10. He is survived by wife Zoya Hasan, a political scientist and academician.