History Congress sees future in UPA

Six years after it went out of the government radar during the tenure of former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi, the Indian History Congres...

Six years after it went out of the government radar during the tenure of former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi, the Indian History Congress is again cosying up to the establishment in Delhi.

For the first time after 1997, the organisers have approached Arjun Singh8217;s ministry for funds and support. Congress secretary Vijay Kumar Thakur said from Patna, 8216;8216;Arjun Singh will definitely be invited to attend the inaugural session.8217;8217; With so much enthusiasm about the History Congress 8212; treated with disdain by the previous dispensation 8212; the organisers have been startled by the volume of competition among aspiring hosts.

Prof Thakur is aware that historians in Mumbai feel let down because of a late decision by the Congress secretariat to have the seminars, symposiums in December-end at Rohilkhand University in Bareilly, UP.

8216;8216;Yes there is enthusiasm this year,8217;8217; agrees Prof Shireen Moosvi of Aligarh University, secretary of the History Congress till 2001, and now in-charge of the Congress secretariat8217;s publication division.

She said: 8216;8216;Our decision to host it in Bareilly was not prompted by any political considerations. Logistical advantages compelled that choice.8217;8217;

Thakur explained that the universities of Kolhapur, Bombay and Rohilkhand were in the race from the beginning to host the Congress. 8216;8216;The Kolhapur V-C informed us in March that his university was dropping out.8217;8217; Thakur subsequently made two trips to Mumbai. 8216;8216;The University of Bombay has a new campus coming up in Kellini but we were told it could lodge only 300 delegates.

Rohilkhand lapped up the opportunity, and its V-C immediately wrote to the Congress secretariat. Rohilkhand University has lodging facilities for at least 1,000 delegates. Said Thakur: 8216;8216;Yes, by not being able to host in Mumbai, we shall lose a few hundred delegates.8217;8217;