New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration drew criticism from Twitterati when it was revealed that the University had sought the CV of Indian historian and Padma Bhushan awardee Romila Thapar.
The administration is said to have asked Thapar to submit her CV in order to review her position as the institute’s professor “emerita”, according to a report published in The Telegraph.
JNU’s decision drew flak on Twitter as the emeritus position (which comes with no financial benefits) is usually an honour conferred by the university itself and is rarely subjected to review.
Twitter users also pointed out the hilarity of asking a reputed historian such as Thapar to submit her CV.
One JNU PhD candidate tweeted, “Romila Thapar, the greatest living historian of ancient India, is asked by JNU to send her CV…in the university she helped set up and made an intellectual powerhouse…”
“I think her CV will span at least a 100 pages,” said former JNU Student Union leader Shehla Rashid.
Speaking to Anandabazar, Thapar said, “It is a very unfortunate thing. We are going through a strange time. Emeritus is not a mere designation, it is an honour related to the university’s goodwill.”
Although many users suggested that the university’s request was politically motivated. Journalist Rana Ayyub wrote, “The pettiness of an insecure, vindictive regime” while another journalist Swati Chaturvedi posted, “…am sure Thapar will show her degree, she should ask Modi and Irani to show the degrees they have.”
Romila Thapar has been a historian, researcher, and teacher for nearly six decades. She has also been awarded the prestigious Kluge Prize of the United States Library of Congress and is a visiting professor at Cornell University.
Thapar has also been an outspoken critic of the Modi government and wrote a letter, along with authors Girish Karnad, Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh, and Nayantara Sahgal, to the Indian Cultural Forum in April. The letter alleged that the country was being divided by hate politics and fear as “full-fledged citizens” were becoming increasingly excluded.
