14th Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer Memorial Lecture

Since the demise of Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer in 2013, hbs in collaboration with our partner, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) have initiated a memorial lecture in his name. He was one of the tallest scholars/political/social activists who sacrificed his life for promoting social harmony and peace in the society. Therefore, the Asghar Ali Memorial Lectures are organized in commemoration of the work and values that Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer strived for. The objective of the lectures is to engage all sections of society, particularly the youth, women, scholars and peace workers to reflect on contemporary challenges facing societal peace, harmony and the liberal democratic values of the Indian constitution. The 14th Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer Memorial shall be delivered by Prof. Harbans Mukhia, Former Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on "History as Profession and as Political Capital". The lecture will be chaired by Prof. Suhas Palshikar, Co-Director, Lokniti, Centre for Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi.

Speaker: Harbans Mukhia

Harbans Mukhia, 80, was Professor of Medieval History and Rector, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is the founder-editor The Medieval History Journal, published by SAGE. In early years, his interest focused on medieval Indian historiography which led to his doctoral thesis, Historians and Historiography during the Reign of Akbar, published as a book in 1976. Teaching a course on Feudalism at JNU led to research on its theoretical and empirical premises in a comparative perspective. ‘Was there Feudalism in Indian History?’ published in The Journal of Peasant Studies, 1981, became the centre of an international debate from 1985 to 93 resulting in two books. In 1988-90, co-edited with Maurice Aymard translations of some 35 articles of the best French historians and published in India in two volumes: French Studies in History. Among his other books are Religion, Religiosity and Communalism (co-edited with Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik), 1996, The Mughals of India, 2004, and Exploring India’s Medieval Centuries: Essays in History, Society, Culture, and Technology, 2010.

Chair: Suhas Palshikar

Suhas Palshikar is Co-Director at Lokniti, a research programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the Chief Editor of the journal Studies in Indian Politics. He was professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University till his retirement in 2016. Prior to joining Department of Politics and Public Administration as Faculty Member at the University of Pune, he was teaching undergraduate students for a decade at S. P. College. His areas of specialization are Political Process in India, Politics of Maharashtra, and Political Sociology of democracy. His has authored and co-edited many books and articles, including his more recent book, Indian Democracy (Oxford India Short Introductions, OUP, 2017) and Electoral Politics in Indian States: Resurgence of Bharatiya Janata Party (2017; co-edited). He is also co-editor of Sage Series on Politics in Indian States since 1990s. He is also a frequent contributor to EPW and Indian Express.

Venue: Durbar Hall, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai,  Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai – 400 023.

Information:

Chok Tsering
Program Coordinator
E: chok.tsering@in.boell.org