Papiya Ghosh
Encyclopedia
Professor Papiya Ghosh was a historian of South Asian history and a professor
of the University of Patna
, India
. She was found murdered December 3, 2006, along with her elderly housemaid, Malti Devi, apparently as a result of an attempted burglary.
Ghosh, an ethnic Bengali
, was the sister of Tuktuk Kumar, an officer of Indian Administrative Service from the West Bengal cadre, and a close associate of the writer Jug Suraiya
from the Times of India.
(Bihar
, India
). She was the third of four daughters of Ujjal Kumar Ghosh, an IAS officer of the Bihar Cadre, and his wife Purnima Ghosh. Her father was a victim of what was widely held to be a political murder in 1957. The four sisters were subsequently brought up by their mother, who took up a job as a school teacher to support her daughters after the murder of her husband.
Papiya attended St Joseph's Convent school in Patna, where she was school topper and elected Head Girl in 1971. She earned an undergraduate degree in History from the Patna Women's College (Patna University) and was also elected Premier of the Students' Union. Papiya was an avid debater, dramatist and writer from an early age, and, together with her sister Tuktuk, became something of a household name as a regular contributor to Kookie Kol, a column in the Junior Statesman
, which was a popular youth magazine of the time.
As Patna University was closed down indefinitely in 1975 during Jayaprakash Narayan
's agitation, Papiya Ghosh moved to Delhi University where she completed her MPhil and PhD, studying the pre-independence civil disobedience movement in Bihar (1930-34). After her PhD, she taught History at Delhi University for two years. In 1979, she decided to move back to Patna. This was in part to support her mother, who was by then living on her own, but also because she wanted to live and work in the midst of the land, people and society which formed the main focus of her academic research.
In Patna, Papiya taught first at Patna Women's College and then at the history department at Patna University. A highly regarded teacher, she took great personal pains to ensure that the content and quality of instruction her students received was at par with the best universities in the country. This was especially challenging given the general decline of standards at Patna University, the very limited funding available, deteriorating facilities, and official indifference.
Professional recognition was hard to come by, given the situation in Patna and its remoteness from the more high-profile academic centres of India. Nevertheless, she was awarded the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship (twice), as well as fellowships from the Indian Institute of Advanced Study
(Shimla) and Teen Murti Bhavan (New Delhi). She also contributed a number of scholarly articles to prestigious academic journals.
A follower of the philosopher Rumi, Papiya Ghosh was drawn towards Sufi mysticism, which she saw as a unique amalgam of influences truly representative the assimilative culture of the Indian sub-continent. She also had a keen interest in modern literature, especially writings by and about Indian and Pakistani women.
for two years. In 1979, she moved back to Patna, where she taught at her alma mater, Patna Women's College (Patna University), until 1991. She was subsequently promoted and moved to the Department of History, Patna University.
Her research subjects related, inter-alia, to the impact of Partition in 1947, the plight of Dalit Muslims, peoples’ movements, popular syncretic culture, secularism, the contribution of the underprivileged to political processes etc. She was particularly interested in questions of identity, especially how people identify themselves individually and collectively when removed from their place of origin. She spent much of her time travelling to remote areas, meeting key sources (within and outside the country), and conducting first-hand primary research using her own limited resources. She would devote hours on translation, roping in friends and well-wishers to help. She taught herself to read and write Urdu
, as many of the manuscripts she studied were written in the Nastaliq script. She immersed herself in local traditions (many obscure, some dying out) and was also a keen student of diasporic sub-continental populations, both contemporary (such as the Bangladeshi population in London) and historical (such as in Mauritius and the West Indies).
She was:
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of the University of Patna
University of Patna
The Patna University, Hindi: पटना विश्वविद्यालय, the first university in Bihar, was established in 1917 during the British Raj, and is the seventh oldest university of the Indian subcontinent. At that time, the jurisdiction of the university extended to Bihar, Orissa, and the Kingdom of Nepal...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She was found murdered December 3, 2006, along with her elderly housemaid, Malti Devi, apparently as a result of an attempted burglary.
Ghosh, an ethnic Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
, was the sister of Tuktuk Kumar, an officer of Indian Administrative Service from the West Bengal cadre, and a close associate of the writer Jug Suraiya
Jug Suraiya
Jug Suraiya is a prominent Indian journalist, author and columnist. He is best known as a satirist and columnist. Suraiya is a former Editorial Opinion Editor and Associate Editor of the Times of India.He is Delhi-based and schooled at La Martiniere Calcutta....
from the Times of India.
Life
Ghosh was born on 8 October 1953, at DumkaDumka
Dumka, headquarters of Dumka district, is a city and municipality in the state of Jharkhand, India. It was made the headquarters of the Santhal Pargana region which was carved out of Bhagalpur and Suri districts after The Great Santal Hul 1855. Presently, it is the commissionary headquarter of...
(Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
). She was the third of four daughters of Ujjal Kumar Ghosh, an IAS officer of the Bihar Cadre, and his wife Purnima Ghosh. Her father was a victim of what was widely held to be a political murder in 1957. The four sisters were subsequently brought up by their mother, who took up a job as a school teacher to support her daughters after the murder of her husband.
Papiya attended St Joseph's Convent school in Patna, where she was school topper and elected Head Girl in 1971. She earned an undergraduate degree in History from the Patna Women's College (Patna University) and was also elected Premier of the Students' Union. Papiya was an avid debater, dramatist and writer from an early age, and, together with her sister Tuktuk, became something of a household name as a regular contributor to Kookie Kol, a column in the Junior Statesman
The Statesman
The Statesman is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata, New Delhi, Siliguri and Bhubaneswar. The Statesman is owned by The Statesman Ltd., its headquarters at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Calcutta and its national...
, which was a popular youth magazine of the time.
As Patna University was closed down indefinitely in 1975 during Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP Narayan, Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution...
's agitation, Papiya Ghosh moved to Delhi University where she completed her MPhil and PhD, studying the pre-independence civil disobedience movement in Bihar (1930-34). After her PhD, she taught History at Delhi University for two years. In 1979, she decided to move back to Patna. This was in part to support her mother, who was by then living on her own, but also because she wanted to live and work in the midst of the land, people and society which formed the main focus of her academic research.
In Patna, Papiya taught first at Patna Women's College and then at the history department at Patna University. A highly regarded teacher, she took great personal pains to ensure that the content and quality of instruction her students received was at par with the best universities in the country. This was especially challenging given the general decline of standards at Patna University, the very limited funding available, deteriorating facilities, and official indifference.
Professional recognition was hard to come by, given the situation in Patna and its remoteness from the more high-profile academic centres of India. Nevertheless, she was awarded the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship (twice), as well as fellowships from the Indian Institute of Advanced Study
Indian Institute of Advanced Study
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study is a prestigious research institute based in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and it started functioning from October 20, 1965....
(Shimla) and Teen Murti Bhavan (New Delhi). She also contributed a number of scholarly articles to prestigious academic journals.
A follower of the philosopher Rumi, Papiya Ghosh was drawn towards Sufi mysticism, which she saw as a unique amalgam of influences truly representative the assimilative culture of the Indian sub-continent. She also had a keen interest in modern literature, especially writings by and about Indian and Pakistani women.
Murder
Papiya Ghosh was murdered on the night of 2/3 December 2006, along with her elderly maid, Malti Devi. The post-mortem report listed 34 stab wounds inflicted on her, including to the eyes, throat and stomach. Of the six men accused on the murder, four have been arrested, tried and convicted but two of the named accused are still at large.Work
After her PhD, Papiya Ghosh taught History at Daulat Ram College (Delhi University) briefly, and then at the Hindu College, University of DelhiHindu College, University of Delhi
Hindu College, Delhi is one of the oldest and well-known colleges in India, that was set up in 1899. It is under the affiliation of University of Delhi.It has seen enviable growth over the years. It offers undergraduate as well as postgraduate courses in Science, Humanities and Commerce...
for two years. In 1979, she moved back to Patna, where she taught at her alma mater, Patna Women's College (Patna University), until 1991. She was subsequently promoted and moved to the Department of History, Patna University.
Her research subjects related, inter-alia, to the impact of Partition in 1947, the plight of Dalit Muslims, peoples’ movements, popular syncretic culture, secularism, the contribution of the underprivileged to political processes etc. She was particularly interested in questions of identity, especially how people identify themselves individually and collectively when removed from their place of origin. She spent much of her time travelling to remote areas, meeting key sources (within and outside the country), and conducting first-hand primary research using her own limited resources. She would devote hours on translation, roping in friends and well-wishers to help. She taught herself to read and write Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, as many of the manuscripts she studied were written in the Nastaliq script. She immersed herself in local traditions (many obscure, some dying out) and was also a keen student of diasporic sub-continental populations, both contemporary (such as the Bangladeshi population in London) and historical (such as in Mauritius and the West Indies).
She was:
- Rockefeller Fellow at the University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, 1994; - Rockefeller Fellow at the Triangle South Asia Consortium at North Carolina State UniversityNorth Carolina State UniversityNorth Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, 1996-97; - Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced StudyIndian Institute of Advanced StudyThe Indian Institute of Advanced Study is a prestigious research institute based in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and it started functioning from October 20, 1965....
, Shimla (India), 1993-96 - Visiting Scholar at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi, 1988-91;
- Adviser to the Asian Development Research InstituteAsian Development Research Institute-About the Institution:The Asian Development Research Institute was established and registered as a Society by a group of social scientists in 1991. It is a non-profit civil society organization, dedicated to social science research...
, Patna; and - Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityJawaharlal Nehru UniversityJawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
, New Delhi.
Memorials
The following awards have been instituted in Papiya Ghosh's name by the Purnujjal Papiya Ghosh Memorial Trust:- Patna Women’s College, Patna University, for the Topper in BA History
- Department of History, Patna University, for the Topper in MA History
- Hindu College, Delhi University, for the Topper in MA History
- The Professor Papiya Ghosh National Award, instituted by the Indian History CongressIndian History CongressIndian History Congress is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 10,000 members. It was established in 1935. The name of any new applicant for membership needs to be proposed and seconded by existing Ordinary or Life Members....
- The Papiya Ghosh Memorial Prize for the best MPhil Thesis in Development Studies, at Oxford University
- A Memorial Fund for PhD and Short Term Fellowships in Papiya Ghosh's memory has been set up at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, CalcuttaCentre for Studies in Social Sciences, CalcuttaThe Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta is an autonomous research centre devoted to the research and advancement of the social sciences in South Asia...
, for young women academicians from non-metropolitan areas of the country. This has been supported by, among others, the Dorabji TataDorabji TataSir Dorabji Tata , was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist, and a key figure in the history and development of the Tata industrial empire...
Trust, and friends and family of Papiya Ghosh. - The Syndicate of Patna University has approved, on 3 May 2007, the setting up of the Papiya Ghosh Centre for Gender Studies to promote research in this area.
External links
- Papiya Ghosh official website (memorial)
- Purnujjal Papiya Ghosh Memorial Trust website
- Shock of Papiya Ghosh's murder rocks Patna Intelligentsia
- Papiya Ghosh: From J.S. to an end
- Professor's Murder Stuns Friends, Colleagues
- Four held in Papiya Ghosh murder case
- Killers of Papiya Ghosh Officially Charged