Written by: Vijay Pratap Singh
3 min readAllahabadNov 5, 2009 05:18 AM IST
First published on: Nov 5, 2009 at 05:18 AM IST
Renowned publisher Prentice-Hall of Australia,Sydney,has threatened to sue a professor of the Geography department of the Allahabad University and a member of the Allahabad Geographical Society (AGS) for plagiarism.
R W Taylor,head of the legal cell of the publisher,has also written to the university authorities to take action against the professor.
According to the publisher,the head of the department,Professor Kumkum Roy,has plagiarised 11 pages from Brian Joe Lobley Berry’s,an internationally respected name in the field of
Geography,book Geography of Market Center and Retail Distribution in a paper published in the department’s journal National Geographer in 1972.
Berry,who is currently the Regental Professor and Dean of the School of Economics,Political and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas,wrote his book in 1967. According to sources in Allahabad University,when the paper was published by Roy in 1972,the issue was immediately raised by the author.
He wrote to the then Vice-Chancellor A B Lal registering his objection and demanded an unconditional apology in the next issue of the journal,but the matter was suppressed.
The August 25 letter of Taylor reads: “It’s a matter of grave concern that Kumkum Ghoshal (now Kumkum Roy) has violated the Copyright Act by plagiarising several pages from our author Professor Berry’s book. The National Geographer is the mouthpiece of Allahabad Geographical Society.”
The letter further read that the author had previously agreed to forgive and overlook this mistake provided the AGS immediately in the next issue of National Geographer declared that the paper was a case of plagiarism.
“It is hoped that the university will inquire into the matter and take stern action against the author and AGS,failing which Prentice-Hall will be forced to take legal course through its legal representatives in India,” read the letter.
Allahabad University Vice-Chancellor Professor R G Harshe has now asked for an explanation from Roy within three working days.
“She was served with a notice on October 31 to explain her stand charges levelled against her,” said Harshe.
Roy,however,refused to comment. On the issue of seeking the explanation from Roy so late,Harshe said: “This is a very serious matter and the reputation of the university is at stake. The letter reached the university late in October. I sought an explanation from Roy. Further action would depend on her reply.”
Harshe said he had sent an acknowledgement to the publisher,duly informing him of the actions being taken in this regard.
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