One of the commonest cliches that goes around is that in India, we don’t have a chronicled history apart from some random and isolated works. So, we needed a bunch of historians to chronicle our history so that it becomes in sync with the times, as well as takes into account any of the missing links.
In early 70s, the British started to selectively publish the documents related to the transfer of power under a series to give a message that they were more than willing to transfer the power to the Indians.
In order to checkmate the British Point of View, the Indian Council of Historic Research was founded. It aimed to give a national direction to an objective presentation and interpretation of history.
The body was conceptualized under the ministry of culture.
Since its inception, it served as a platform for partisans and nepotists using the state’s treasury to bail out each other.
Dr. Irfan Habib used ICHR to forward his credentials as an eminent historian. Irfan Habib served as the Chairman of the ICHR not once but twice and used the platform to mint out maximum benefits. Even when he was the ICHR chairman, he took remunerative position as a fact finder for the Babri Masjid Action Committee and even deposed for them in the court . He was writing open letters for the nation stating how there was no Ram Temple at Ayodhya in the national dailies.
Arun Shourie in his seminal work, “Eminent Historians” has said how under his chairmanship an important work of the translation of the important works of history was taken up for translations into regional dialects. The concerned committee chose 5 works of R.S. Sharma, 3 each of Romila Thapar and Mohd. Habib (Father of Irfan Habib), 2 each of D.N. Jha, Nurul Hasan, Bipin Chandra and Irfan Habib. So, we have a council of historians who chose their own works on the payment of royalties .
With such kind of professional ethics and intellectual integrity, we find Dr. Irfan Habib lecturing the right wing in the Indian Socio-political milieu of importing the concept of “Bharat Mata”. That he is again factually incorrect is another thing because Bharat Mata has been envisaged in the Bhoomi Sukta of the Atharva Veda but what needs a debate is the assumption of a moral high point by the likes of left leaning, morally bankrupt historians.
Prof Irfan Habib wrote a preface for the work of the erstwhile deputy director of the unit related to Medival era history, Tasneem Ahmed, that was related to English Translation of the book by Arif Kandhari titled Tarikh-e-Akbari. Now the annual reports of the ICHR say that manuscripts on a similar topic were received from Dr. Parmatma Saran in 1978.
Unfortunately he passed away and his work could not be published. Subsequently his works could not be traced but later in a departmental inquiry it was found that 60 pages work was found to exactly the same as in the book of Tasneem Ahmed.
They have used ICHR to forward their agenda of demonizing the Hindus and the Hindu society while staying on freebies and not being accountable to anyone. They plagarise, they openly grant favors to each other and cannot give any account of the credible work of research done by them in their respective field of history.
Irfan Habib is nothing more than a of fiction writer whose works are more than often way of the mark.
It is really very sad to find that we have not taken any serious steps to remove the iron grip of this section of academicians over our education which is creating generations after generations of human beings who are devoid any sense of self identity.
This is why he can say with impunity that Bharat Mata is an imported character from Europe.