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print versionOpen letter to the President, the Prime Minister and central government, the Governors and Ministers of different state governments, and the Chief Justice and other Justices of the Supreme Court and High Courts of India:
from historians and social scientists of India at academic institutions overseas;
dated November 8, 2015.
On October 26, a group of distinguished Indian historians issued a statement of concern about the damage being done in the current political climate to the traditions of tolerance, and freedom of speech, belief and practices, for which India was long applauded. We – historians and social scientists engaged in researching and teaching about the richness of Indian history and society in different locations overseas – write to express our solidarity with their statement. We share the deep concern over recent happenings in India, which are affecting freedom of artistic expression and historical and social science inquiry, and serving to produce a dangerously pervasive atmosphere of narrowness, intolerance and bigotry.
Currently reigning political attitudes and actions have seriously harmed the tradition of critical inquiry into the condition of India’s past and present that undergirded the country’s reputation of tolerance and democracy.
Irresponsible statements by political leaders, declaring that India is finally free from eight hundred or one thousand years of slavery, and that the glory of the Hindu nation will shine anew, are creating a sense of fear among millions of citizens now being defined as outsiders. What the present regime seems to be promoting, as our colleagues in India note, is a legislated account of the past, glorifying a homogenized and inflexible “Hindu†tradition. This denies the very inheritance that made the tradition exceptional: ongoing debate, a remarkable range of accepted beliefs and practices, and the necessity of change over time. Such a monolithic and flattened view of India’s history is not supported by the sources, or by any serious historical inquiry.
It is a sad commentary on proclaimed traditions of tolerance and democracy that a family or individual can be lynched or burnt alive for an alleged social transgression (whether this be the eating of particular kinds of meat, or the forging of social relations across certain caste barriers) – without any formal charges being brought, let alone a trial being held in court. And that well-known and respected scholars can be killed for their intellectual opinions, research and writing because these do not fit with a particular political group’s view of the “real†history or condition of India.
What makes the situation worse is that the Prime Minister and leaders of government have not felt it necessary to speak out promptly and strongly against these acts of criminal violence. With our colleagues in India, we urge the President, Prime Minister and central government, the Governors and Ministers of different state governments, and the Chief Justice and other Justices of the Supreme Court and High Courts, to uphold the law and the constitution, allowing free and fearless expression of views, ensuring security for all sections of society, and safeguarding the values and traditions of plurality that India has long cherished.
signed:
- Aiyar, Sana MIT, Boston, MA (USA)
- Ajantha Subramanian Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Alexander, Meena City University of New York
- Anand, Dibyesh University of Westminster, UK
- Appadurai, Arjun New York University
- Arondekar, Anjali University of California, Santa Cruz
- Baba, Norihisa University of Tokyo, Japan
- Bajpai, Rochana School of Oriental and African Studies, London
- Baker, J. Mark Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
- Basu, Amrita Amherst College, Amherst, MA
- Basu, Anustup University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Basu, Manisha University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Basu, Subho Mcgill University, Canada
- Bate, Bernard Yale-NUS College, Singapore
- Berger, Rachel Concordia University, Canada
- Bhabha, Homi Harvard University, Cambridge MA
- Bhatia, Varuni University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Bhattacharyya, Debjani Drexel University, Philadelphia
- Bilgrami, Akeel Columbia University, New York
- Bose, Neilesh University of Victoria, Canada
- Bove, Paul A. University of Pittsburgh, PA
- Busch, Allison Columbia University, New York
- Chakravarti, Ananya Georgetown University, Washington DC
- Chakravartti, Paula New York University
- Chandra, Shefali Washington University in St. Louis
- Chandra, Sudhir Nantes Institute for Advanced Study, France
- Charusheela, S. University of Washington, Bothell, WA
- Chatterjee, Partha Columbia University, New York
- Chatterji, Joya University of Cambridge, UK
- Chattopadhyay, Swati University of California, Santa Barbara
- Chopra, Rohit Santa Clara University, CA
- Cohen, Lawrence University of California, Berkeley
- Cole, Juan University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Datla, Kavita Saraswathi Mount Holyoke College, MA
- Daruvala, Susan University of Cambridge, UK
- Das Gupta, Monisha University of Hawaii, Honolulu
- Das, Shinjini University of Cambridge, UK
- Datta, Antara Royal Holloway College, London
- De, Rohit Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Denault, Leigh University of Cambridge, UK
- Doniger, Wendy University of Chicago, IL
- Duara, Prasenjit National University of Singapore
- Dudney, Arthur University of Cambridge, UK
- Fernandes, Leela University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Fuller, Chris London School of Economics, UK
- Furui, Ryosuke University of Tokyo, Japan
- Gandhi, Leela Brown University, Providence RI
- Ganguly, Debjani Australian National University, Canberra
- Ganti, Tejaswini New York University
- Ghose, Toorjo University of Pennyslvania, Philadelphia
- Ghosh, Bishnupriya University of California, Santa Barbara
- Ghosh, Durba Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- Gill, Navyug Hobart and William Smith Colleges, NY
- Gold, Ann Grodzins Syracuse University, NY
- Goswami, Manu New York University
- Gottschalk, Peter Wesleyan University, Connecticut
- Govindrajan, Radhika University of Washington, Seattle
- Greenough, Paul R University of Iowa
- Grewal, Inderpal Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Grey, Daniel Plymouth University, UK
- Guha, Sudeshna University of Cambridge, UK
- Gupta, Radhika Goettingen University, Germany
- Guyot-Rechard, Berenice University of Cambridge, UK
- Haider, Navina Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Hancock, Mary University of California, Santa Barbara
- Hardiman, David University of Warwick, UK
- Hyder, Syed Akbar University of Texas at Austin
- Ibrahim, Amrita Georgetown University, Washington DC
- Inoue, Aeka Shujitsu University, Okayama, Japan
- Jeffrey, Patricia University of Edinburgh, UK
- Jeffrey, Roger University of Edinburgh, UK
- Jenkins, Laura University of Cincinnatti, OH
- Jones, Arun Emory University, Atlanta
- Joshi, Sanjay Northern Arizona University, AZ
- Juneja, Monica University of Heidelberg, Germany
- Kahrs, Eivind University of Cambridge, UK
- Kaicker, Abhishek University of California, Berkeley
- Kaul, Suvir University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- Keshavmurthy, Prashant Mcgill University, Canada
- Khan, Yasmin University of Oxford, UK
- Kia, Mana Columbia University, NY
- Kimura, Makiko Tsuda College, Tokyo, Japan
- Krishna, Sankaran University of Hawaii, Honolulu
- Lal, Ruby Emory University, Atlanta
- Lal, Vinay University of California, Los Angeles
- Lelyveld, David William Paterson University, NJ
- Lerche, Jens School of Oriental and African Studies, London
- Loomba, Ania University of Pennyslvania, Philadelphia
- Lukose, Ritty New York University
- Mahadev, Neena Max Planck Institute, Berlin, Germany
- Maira, Sunaina University of California, Davis
- Mannathukkaren, Nissim Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Mankekar, Purnima University of California, Los Angeles
- Mantena, Rama University of Illinois, Chicago
- Mathew, Johan University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Matzner, Deborah Wellesley College, Massachusetts
- Mehta, Monika Binghampton University, NY
- Mehta, Uday City University of New York
- Menon, Dilip Univ of Witwatersrand, Johannesberg, South Africa
- Menon, Minakshi Max Planck Institute, Berlin
- Metcalf, Barbara University of California, Davis
- Metcalf, Thomas University of California, Berkeley
- Mir, Raza William Paterson University, NJ
- Mistree, Dinsha Stanford University, CA
- Mitra, Durba Fordham University, New York
- Mohan, Sanal Max Planck Institute, Gottingen
- Mohanty, Satya Cornell University, NY
- Mukharji, Projit University of Pennyslvania, Philadelphia
- Murphy, Ann University of British Columbia, Canada
- Muzaffar, Alam University of Chicago
- Nair, Savita Furman University, South Carolina
- Nakazato, Nariaki University of Tokyo, Japan
- Narayana Rao, V Emory University, Atlanta
- Natrajan, Balmurli William Paterson University, NJ
- Newbigin, Eleanor School of Oriental and African Studies, London
- Pandey, Gyanendra Emory University, Atlanta
- Parthasarathi, Prasannan Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
- Patel, Ian Sanjay Goldsmiths College, University of London
- Pernau, Margrit Max Planck Institute, Berlin
- Peterson, Indira Mount Holyoke College, MA
- Pollock, Sheldon Columbia University, New York
- Prakash, Gyan Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
- Prashad, Vijay Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
- Purohit, Teena Boston University, MA
- Raheja, Gloria University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
- Rahman, M. Raisur Wake Forest University, North Carolina
- Raj, Kapil École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris
- Ramnath, Maia Penn State University, PA
- Randeria, Shalini Institute for International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
- Rao, Anupama Barnard College, New York
- Rao, Rahul School of Oriental and African Studies, London
- Redding, Jeff Saint Louis University School of Law, MO
- Reddy, Sujani SUNY, Old Westbury, NY
- Rizvi, Sajjad University of Exeter, UK
- Robinson, Francis Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
- Roy, Haimanti University of Dayton, Ohio
- Roy, Rohan Deb University of Reading, UK
- Roy, Srirupa University of Goettingen, Germany
- Ryosuke, Furui University of Tokyo, Japan
- Sahota, G.S. University of California, Santa Cruz
- Saikia, Yasmin Arizona State University
- Saith, Ashwani IISS, The Hague, Netherlands
- Sanjam, Ahluwalia Northern Arizona University
- Sarkar, Aditya University of Warwick, UK
- Sarkar, Bhaskar University of California, Santa Barbara
- Sato, Hiroshi Japan Association of South Asian Studies, Tokyo
- Sen, Dwaipayan Amherst College, Amherst, MA
- Sen, Satadru City University of New York
- Sen, Uditi Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
- Seth, Sanjay Goldsmiths, University of London
- Sevea, Iqbal University of North Carolina, Chapel-Hill
- Shah, Alpa London School of Economics, UK
- Shankar, Subramanian University of Hawaii, Honolulu
- Sharafi, Mitra University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Sharma, Aradhana Wesleyan University, Connecticut
- Sharma, Jyotirmaya Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Sharma, Shalini Keele University, UK
- Sheikh, Samira Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Sheth, Falguni Emory University, Atlanta
- Shiga, Miwako Senshu University, Kawasaki, Japan
- Shingavi, Snehal University of Texas at Austin
- Shulman, David Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Siegel, Benjamin Boston University, Boston, MA
- Singh, Amritjit Ohio University, OH
- Singh, Bhrigupati Brown University, Providence, RI
- Singh, Prerna Brown University, Providence, RI
- Sinha, Mishka University of Cambridge, UK
- Sinha, Mrinalini University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Skaria, Akay University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
- Stewart, Tony Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Subramanian, Ajantha Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass
- Subramaniam, Banu University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Swamy, Raja University of Tenessee, Knoxville, TN
- Taneja, Anand Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Tarlo, Emma Goldsmiths College, University of London
- Trivedi, Lisa Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
- Vaidhyanathan, Siva University of Virginia
- van der Veer, Peter Max Planck Institute, Berlin
- van Schendel, Willem University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Vazira, Zamindar Brown University, Providence RI
- Veeraraghavan, Rajesh Brown University, Providence RI
- Virmani-Boutier, Arundhati ÉHESS, Marseille, France
- Visweswaran, Kamala University of California, San Diego
- Wald, Erica Goldsmiths College, University of London
- Washbrook, David University of Cambridge, UK
- White, David University of California, Santa Barbara
- Zecchini, Laetitia CNRS, Paris, France
- Zupanov, Ines G. CNRS, Paris, France
