Prof. Aditya Mukherjee
Director JNIAS
interviewed by Bhoomika Meiling

Bhoomika: What would you like to tell the readers about your association with JNU?

Prof. Mukherjee: JNU is the institution where I have grown. Whatever I am, I owe it to JNU. I was part of the first batch of M.A. students here. Later, in 1976, I joined as a faculty member. I have taught here for thirty years and have been a participant in the making of the finest institution in India. Right from its inception, I have been lucky to be a part of JNU.

Bhoomika: JNU has produced several illustrious historians. What are your observations regarding the role of JNU in furthering the cause of unbiased and more objective representation in history?

Prof. Mukherjee: JNU has done so by promoting scientific history. From the very beginning, we did not consider history as a branch of the ’Arts’, as it is thought of generally. It is part of the School of Social Sciences. We recruit students from

Literature as well as from Physics! I came from Economics. Separation of mythology from history is also an offshoot of this scientific, inter  disciplinary project. Furthermore, JNU community has always made attempts to eliminate individual political biases from the discipline. As a result of such efforts, today CHS is  rated as the best department of Indian History in the world.

Bhoomika: Sir, you were recently appointed as the Sectional President (Modern India) of Indian History Congress. Through the media coverage of the 67^th session of the Indian History Congress, we came to know that debates are still going on regarding the representation of the Revolt of 1857. In the light of such debates and controversies, tell us something about Indian History Congress.

Prof. Mukherjee: Indian History Congress was established in the mid  1930s. It has been the bedrock of secular, scientific history-writing in India. One can say that Indian historiography is of a very high level as compared to that of the rest of the world. The work of the History Congress has been instrumental in bringing us to such a level. The prime objective of the Congress is to maintain secular history-writing because history is one discipline with which communalists seek to interfere the most. Communal ideology can be promoted with ease by distorting history. In the colonial times, history was communally and colonially coloured. After the struggle for independence, there was a major concern to write modern, scientific and independent history of India. That zeal produced illustrious historians such as Romila Thapar, Bipin Chandra, S. Gopal, Satish Chandra, Irfan Habib and so on. It was all part of a movement. The History Congress has consistently opposed political interference and promoted professionalism in history-writing. As far as debates are concerned, issues of historical importance are always attacked by communal forces. And hence, so many debates.

Bhoomika: And what are your plans as the Sectional President?

Prof. Mukherjee: Of course I have to write the Presidential Address first. Since my field is Political Economy, I will focus on the Twentieth Century Political Economy. That is how I’ll begin. The rest shall fall in place. My aim will be to promote secular historiography which is the main objective of Indian History Congress.

Bhoomika: The JNIAS is a new initiative of JNU. As the third Director of this nascent Institute, what is your vision regarding its development?

Prof. Mukherjee: JNIAS is still very young. It will take a long, concerted effort to establish it. There is no Institute of Advanced Studies in any Indian University. JNU, after reaching the stature of a premier, internationally-recognized University, is ready for such an initiative. We need to link up with the rest of the world. This can happen when we are entirely committed to make JNIAS an institute which not only can serve as a point of convergence of illustrious minds but also can provide basic infrastructure to the invitees to come, stay here, carry-on with their own academic work and, at the same time, enrich JNU too. This must be seen as a serious, necessary business and not as just another add-on to JNU. JNIAS has still to be developed a lot to bring it at par with other institutes of JNU. It is, as one said, at a very preliminary stage.

Bhoomika: What changes have you seen in JNU over the years? Where do you see JNU going in future?

Prof. Mukherjee: The future of every institution is in hands of its members. We have work hard to maintain JNU standards. JNU is very different from other Universities because we have a very strong social commitment. We are not elitists. A sense of equality prevails here. We encourage students from all sorts of backgrounds. And the success of JNU lies in being able to marry social justice with quality. This integration is not easy to maintain. We know that Universities suffer when they give in to populism; see what has happened to many erstwhile great Universities of India! We have toiled over the past 30 years to reach here. If today we compromise on quality, our students will suffer. The challenge is to not to allow ourselves to do so.