Pune varsity cancels Indian History Congress meet, cites lack of funds; N Ram was main speaker

The 79th session of the Indian History Congress (IHC), which was scheduled to be held at the Savitribai Phule Pune University from December 28, has been postponed, drawing criticism from the research body which dubbed the decision as "unilateral".

A university official cited shortage of funds and accommodation-related issues as the reasons for postponing the mega history meet. “So far, we have managed to arrange less than half of the expected budget (₹1.5 crore). That is why we have sought some extension in arranging the same,” said Radhika Seshan, associate professor of history at SPPU, according to an Indian Express report.

The IHC’s annual conference sees the biggest congregation of historians — over 1,200 delegates attend it and about 700 papers are presented. Currently, historian KM Shrimali is the body’s general president and historians Irfan Habib and Shireen Moosvi of Aligarh Muslim University are the vice-presidents. The Chairman of The Hindu publishing group N Ram was set to deliver the SC Misra Memorial Lecture.

According to sources, IHC members suggested that the university was under pressure from the Maharashtra state government to not host the meet. However, denying this claim, SPPU Registrar Prafulla Pawar blamed inadequate funds and arrangement of accommodation for delegates instead.

The IHC and NDA government have shared an uneasy relationship in the past. In 2001, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s inaugural speech at the 61st session of the IHC was critical of the AB Vajpayee government’s attempt at “confounding myth and history”.

Last year, the IHC passed a resolution against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement citing plastic surgery and genetic science to explain creation of Ganesh and Karna.

Noted historian S Irfan Habib expressed surprise at the sudden decision of the university to postpone the event.

"Shocking to know that Savitri Bai Phule University in Pune suddenly decided not to host the 79th Indian History Congress session. IHC session was supposed to be held by the end of this month. Law and order issues are cited as one major reason by the university hosts," Habib said in a tweet.

A brief note on the varsity's website on Wednesday said, "The scheduled 79th session of the Indian History Congress, December 28-30, 2018, at Savitribai Phule Pune University, is postponed until further notice." IHC secretary Prof Mahalakshmi Ramakrishnan said they were "shocked and deeply disappointed" by the university's decision.

The secretary said they had a written offer from the university's vice chancellor for holding the 79th session of the IHC at the varsity.

"We received an email from an anonymous "Team IHC" on December 11, which appeared to be emanating from the office of the local secretary in Pune, that due to financial difficulties and lack of arrangements for accommodation of delegates, they have at the last moment taken this unilateral decision," Ramakrishnan said in a note on IHC's website.

On December 12, the website of SPPU carried the announcement of the postponement of IHC, "without the approval of IHC's executive committee", the official noted.

"We have written to the vice chancellor of SPPU expressing our deep anguish and asking him to ensure that the local delegate fee is returned immediately to members," Ramakrishnan said.

"We regret that our members are being put to great inconvenience at this late hour but assure them that we will hold the 79th session at a future date, the dates and venue of which will be conveyed by email to members and on the Indian History Congress website," the note added.

IHC is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians. It promotes and encourages scientific study of Indian history, according to the IHC's website.

Here you can read the full statement of IHC here: