Indian Council of Historical Research
The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which had been established by an Administrative Order of the then Ministry of Education. The body, over many years, has provided financial assistance to the historians and direction to the research scholars in their multifarious topics of historical research through established historians and scholars of the country for fellowships, grants, and symposia, made to the Indian Council of Historical Research or through the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The source of the funds at the disposal of the ICHR is grants-in-aid received from the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, grants-in-aid from various Indian states, private donations from individuals and other countries, and the proceeds of revenues from the sale of publications of the ICHR.
The ICHR is based in Delhi, with regional centres in Pune (Maharashtra), Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Guwahati (Assam).
The Government of India has entered into cultural exchange programmes with many countries of the world for an exchange of historians and exchange of views between them.
The ICHR was formed as a literary and charitable society, a fully funded autonomous body of the Ministry of Education with the historians R.S. Sharma the then Head Department of History, Delhi University, nominated as its first chairman, ICHR,[1] Satish Chandra, J.S. Garewal and M.N. Prasad, the then the Director of the National Archives of India at the helm. The present Chairman of ICHR Professor Sudershan Rao is an eminent historian and member secretary is Dr. Anand Shanker Singh [2]
Some of the notable historian members/functionaries of the Indian Council have been Irfan Habib, Sushil Kumar, Tapan Raychaudhuri, and Barun De.
Review of the functioning of ICHR
Since the ICHR has continued to be fully funded by the government of India, and all the administrative and fiscal policies of the government are applicable to its affairs, the government of India carries out a periodical review of the functioning of ICHR.
The first review of the ICHR was ordered in 1981, the second in 1999, and the third in March 2011.[3]
Objectives
The objectives of the ICHR, as enunciated in the initial pamphlet published by the Department of Education, Government of India in 1972, are as under:
- to bring historians together and provide a forum for exchange of views between them;
- to give a national direction to an objective and scientific writing of history and to have rational presentation and interpretation of history;
- to promote, accelerate and coordinate research in history with special emphasis on areas which have not received adequate attention so far;
- to promote and coordinated a balanced distribution of research effort over different areas; and
- to elicit support and recognition for historical research from all concerned and ensure the necessary dissemination and use of results.
Funding, expenses and salaries
ICHR is funded by grants-in-aid received from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. It also receives funds from the various state governments of India and from other Ministries of the government of India.
Office building
The ICHR, unlike its sister research body, the Indian Council of Social Science Research, which had been formed by an Act of the Parliament, has no office building of its own. It has continued to be housed in a building belonging to the Jawaharlal Nehru University, at 35 Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi, since 1972.
Organization
The ICHR is headed by an Honorary Chairman. The Member Secretary functions as the Secretary of the Governing Council during its General Body and special meetings and as the day-to-day Head of the Department in ICHR.
The Members of the Council of ICHR (Governing Body) are nominated for a period of three years. The Chairman of the Council of ICHR is nominated by the Department of Education in an honorary capacity and his term is not co-terminus with that of the members of the Constituted Council. The day-to-day functioning of the ICHR is looked after the Director who acts as ex officio Member Secretary of the Council. In 1991, a trend was started to have a separate post of Member Secretary of the ICHR, with Professor MGS Narayanan being selected as the First Member Secretary of ICHR. The institution has been continually embroiled in intra-rivalries between the Chairmen, Member Secretaries and the Directors, at the cost of historical research. The main reason, as per many, has been the deputing of persons from here and there as the Member Secretaries and the undermining the office of the Chairman and the Director of the institution.
Chairmen
- R.S. Sharma, 1972 - 1977
- A.R. Kulkarni, 1978 - 1981
- Niharranjan Ray, 1981 - 1981
- Lokesh Chandra, 1982 - 1985
- Irfan Habib, 1986 - 1993
- Ravinder Kumar, 1993 - 1996
- S. Settar, 1996 - 1999
- K.S. Sarma (acting), 1999 - 1999
- B.R. Grover, 1999 - 2001
- K.S. Lal, 2001 - 2001
- M.G.S. Narayanan, 2001 - 2003
- Kumud Bansal (acting), 2003 - 2004
- D.N. Tripathi, 2004 - 2007
- K.M. Acharya (acting), 2007 - 2007
- Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 4 March 2007 – 3 March 2010
- Sabyasachi Bhattacharya (acting), 4 April 2010 – 20 May 2011
- Basudev Chatterjee, 20 May 2011- 2014
- Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, 28 June 2014 -26 June 2017
- A.P Jamkhedkar, 2018–present
Directors
- Professor B.R. Grover (1975-1986)
- Dr. T.R. Sareen (1986-1997)
- Dr. Sushil Kumar (1997-2010)
Member Secretaries / ex Officio Member Secretaries
- Professor BR Grover Director as Ex Officio MS 1975-1986
- Dr TR Sareen Director as Ex Officio MS 1986-1990
- Professor M.G.S. Narayanan (1990-1991) (on deputation from Calicut University)
- Dr TR Sareen Director as Ex Officio MS 1991-1997
- Dr Sushil Kumar Director as Ex Officio MS 1997-1998
- Professor T.K.V. Subramaniam (1998-1999) (on deputation from Delhi University)
- Dr Sushil Kumar Director as Ex Offico MS 1999-2001
- Dr. R.C. Agrawal (2001-2003) (on deputation from Archaeological Survey of India)
- Dr. P.K. Shukla Deputy Director Research holding additional charge (2004 - January 2007) in the absence of a regular incumbent
- Dr. Ishrat Alam (2008-2011) (on deputation from Aligarh Muslim University)
- Professor Gopinath Ravindran (2011-19.05.2015) (on Deputation from Jamia Milia Islamia University)
- Dr SK Aruni, Deputy Director Research holding additional charge w.e.f 21.05.2015 onwards in the absence of the regular incumbent
Composition of the Council
The ICHR Council consists of the following members:
- An eminent historian nominated by the Government of India who shall be the Chairman of the Council
- Eighteen historians nominated by the Government of India
- Representative of the University Grants Commission
- Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India
- Director General of the National Archives of India
- Four persons to represent government who shall be nominated by the Government of India and which shall include one representative each of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Culture and the Ministry of Finance, and
- the Member Secretary, who is appointed by the Council of the ICHR on deputation basis for a period of three years, with the approval of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.
Publications
The ICHR publishes online as well as on print media. It publishes two journals: the Indian Historical Review (bi-annually) and Itihas (in Hindi). It also provides publication subsidies to seminars, books, congress proceedings and journals. The editing and publication has been outsourced to certain publishing houses.
References
- "The man who made history". The Times of India. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- http://ichr.ac.in/about_comp_council.html
- Third review of the ICHR - March 2011