Author: Papiyaghosh

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Media Coverage

Government To Seek Death Penalties For Professor’s Killing

18 DECEMBER 2006, PATNA. PATNADAILY.COM

Because of the brutal nature of the crime, the State Government will appeal to the Court to award death sentences to the killers of Patna University History Professor Papiya Ghosh, Home Secretary, Afzal Amanullah, said in Patna on Sunday.

“This was a pre-meditated murder committed in cold blood and the Government will ask the court to deliver capital punishment to all those involved in this heinous crime,” the Home Secretary said.

Meanwhile, the Police revealed more information related with the case that not only shocked Bihar but had widespread coverage in other States as well.

“Besides making threatening calls, the criminals also sent us a letter from Muzaffarpur,” the Police said.

Scattered with expletives, the criminals mocked the police for putting up ‘only’ Rs. 50,000 as reward money for their capture.

“No one will come forward for a meager amount like Rs. 50,000. You should have announced a reward of at least Rs. 1 lakh if you want someone to give you some leads,” the letter read.

“This was an attempt to throw us off track and so we concentrated on phone calls made by criminals using Dr. Ghosh’s stolen mobile,” Buddha Colony Police Station In-Charge K. K. Singh said.

Meanwhile, the Police have taken a Patna lawyer into custody after one of the criminals admitted ‘gifting’ the washing machine stolen from Dr. Ghosh’s house to his lawyer to keep him in good humor, sources said.

Categories
Publications & Papers Research Supervision

Research Supervision

Supervised the Ph. D Thesis, “Situtating the Triveni Sangh Shahabad, 1930s – 1940s” by Ms. Shikha Sinha, of Patna University in 2000.

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Conferences / Seminars / Workshops

Conferences / Seminars / Workshops

  • The Swaraj of 1932 in Palamau, Bihar, 48th Session of the Indian History Congress, 5-7 November, 1987, Goa.
  • Champaran in 1917 : Peasants, Planters and Gandhi, Seminar on 150 Years of Peasant Protest Movements in Bihar (1831-1981), Muzaffarpur, 1988.
  • Swami Biswanand : Outsider, Congressman and Gorakshak, Indian History Congress, Dharwad, December, 1988.
  • Bihari Muslims in Dhaka : A Background Study of the 1946 Riot, International Symposium on ‘Dhaka : Past, Present and Future’, Bangladesh Asiatic Society, Dhaka, 16 November 1989.
  • Modern Indian History Unit Lessons on 1857 and The Maratha State System, New Delhi, IGNOU, 1989 and 1990 respectively.
  • Articulating Community Rights : The Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha in Congress Bihar, 1937-39, Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, 16 November, 1991.
  • Contacting the Bihari Muslims : Congress in 1937-39, Indian History Congress, New Delhi, February, 1992.
  • Contesting the Sharif : The Momin Conference—Muslim League Interface in Bihar, 1938-47, Seminar on, Caste and Class in India, Joshi-Adhikari Institute of Social Studies, New Delhi, 4 April, 1992.
  • Shuddhi, Sangathan and Swaraj : The Discourse and Politics of Community and Nation, Centre for Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, 4 April, 1992.
  • Enumerating the Aqalliat : The Bihar Muslim League in the 1930s and 1940s, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, 23 June, 1992.
  • The Discourse and Politics of Qaum, Mazhab and Biradaris in 1940’s Bihar, Workshop on, North India and Indian Independence, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi, December 9, 1993.
  • Enumerating for Social Justice : Religious Minorities and the Indian Constitution, IIAS Seminar on Social Justice and the Indian Constitution, Mysore, 10-14, February, 1994.
  • Hindustani : A Language for the Indian Nation, Sahitya Akademi National Seminar on The Great Indian Debate of the 20th Century, New Delhi, 18-20 February, 1994.
  • Diaspora By Partition : A Map of the Biharis, Institute on Culture and Consciousness in South Asia, University of Chicago, 19 May, 1994.
  • The Unhomings of the Biharis, Oxford Refugee Studies Programme, University of Oxford, 16 June 1994.
  • Reinvoking the Pakistan of the 1940s : Bihar’s Stranded Pakistanis, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 29 November, 1994.
  • The State of Pakistan Studies, American Institute of Pakistan Studies Workshop,
  • Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 19-22 September, 1996.
  • Situating South Asians in North America, Carolina Seminar on Comparative Islamic Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill USA, April 3, 1997.
  • Contesting Hindutva : Indian American Muslims, Triangle South Asia Consortium, North Carolina State University, 28 April 1997.
  • Panel on Linguistic Rights, Transnationalism and Language Preservation – The Relocation of Languages and Cultures: A Transnational and Transdisciplinary Workshop, Duke University, 6-10 May 1997.
  • Muhajir Migrants : Diasporic Mediations, Triangle South Asia Rockefeller Foundation Workshop III on, Migrations, Real and Imagined: Constructing South Asian Muslim Identities, North Carolina State University, 23 May, 1997.
  • Backward and Dalit Muslims in Bihar, 1930s-1990s, International Conference on, Bihar in the World and the World in Bihar, co-organized by the Asian Development Research Institute and the European Science Foundation in Patna, 18 December 1997.
  • Beyond Boundaries : Redefining South Asia, 13th Pakistan Workshop co-organized by the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research and the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Keele University, Lake District, 4 July 1998.
  • Partition’s South Asian Diaspora Mediations, at the 14th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Williamsburg, USA, 30 July, 1998.
  • Gender Politics and Bihari Muslims, Workshop on, Regional Histories of Women: The Eastern Region, co-organized by the Indian Association of Women’s Studies, School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University and Women’s Studies Research Centre, Calcutta University, 25-26 February, 1999.
  • Women in Hindi Cinema, Fourth All Bihar VHS Video Festival: The Media and the Message, Patna, 9 April, 2000.
  • Partition and the South Asian Diaspora, International Conference on Forced Migration in South Asian Region: Displacement, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Centre For Refugee Studies, Jadavpur University in collaboration with the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, Law Research Institute, Calcutta and International Law Association, Calcutta Centre, 21 April, 2000.
  • Bihar Muhajirs : An Aqalliat Perspective of Pakistan, Workshop on, Violence in South Asia : Perspectives, Politics, Discourse, University of Pennsylvania, co-sponsors: Centre for Advanced Study of India and Department of Religious Studies, Philadelphia, 30 March, 2002.
  • Panel on, Mapping Scientific Research : A Social Study of Science in Modern India, Association for Asian Studies, Annual Meeting, Washington, 5 April, 2002.
  • Dalit Muslim Politics : A Post-Mandal Note, National Consultation on, Marginalization of Dalit Muslims in Indian Democracy, Deshkal Society and Heinrich Boll Foundation, India International Centre, New Delhi, 11-12 October, 2003.
  • Contemporary Patriarchies : Reconfigurations in Bihar, conference on ‘Gender, Society and ‘Development’ in India, 1860-2000’, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, 16-18 October 2003.
  • Bihar Ki Pehchan Aur Vikas, Janadalat, co-organized by ADRI and Patna Pustak Mela, Patna, 5 December, 2003.
  • Chaired Session on, Exclusion & Empowerment : Dalit Experience of Democracy, at National Seminar on, Dalit Studies and Higher Education : Exploring Content Material for a New Discipline, India International Centre, New Delhi, February 28-March 1, 2004.
  • Documenting Democracy – Democracy and Pluralism, in, Shared Experiences—India and the U.S.A co-organized by Khuda Baksh Library and American Centre of Kolkata, Patna, 4 March 2004.
  • Gendering Economies, Refresher Course, Department of Economics, Patna University, 1 April 2004.
  • Dalit Studies Curriculum Development Workshop, Deshkal Society, J.N.U., New Delhi, 9-10 April, 2004.
  • Documentaries, Godhra Tak and Naata, Abhivayakti: The 6th All Bihar Low-Cost Video Festival, Ravibharti, Patna, 16 April, 2004.
  • Partition Studies & Pedagogy, International Seminar, The Partition Revisited : Thinking Through and Beyond Violence, Trauma and Memory, organized by Centre for Refugee Studies, Jadavpur University; International Institute of Mediation and Historical Conciliation, Boston; International Centre for Peace Studies, New Delhi, Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace, August 24-26, 2005, New Delhi.
  • Subcontinental Majoritarianisms, presented at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 26 October 2005
  • Writing Ganga-Jamni : In the 1940 and After, presented at the Second International Conference on Religious and Cultures in the Indic Civilization, 18 December 2005, New Delhi, organized by The Indic Studies Network, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies & Manushi : A Journal About Women and Society.
  • Lecture delivered on ‘Popular Political Culture, with special focus on Music’, at Centre for Historical Studies, JNU, New Delhi, March, 2006.
  • Attended Seminar at the Centre for Studies in Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi, on ‘Composite Culture’ in October, 2006.
Categories
Articles/Research Papers Books

Articles / Research Papers

  1. The Civil Disobedience Movement in Bihar, M.Phil, Dissertation, University of Delhi, 1979.
  2. The Civil Disobedience Movement in Bihar, 1930-34 – Ph.d Thesis, University of Delhi, 1984.
  3. The Rural Base of the Bihar Congress, 1920-36, in, Social Science Probings, Vol. No. 1, March, 1986.
  4. ACS – A ticket to Academic Excellence, Times of India, Patna, 31 March, 1988.
  5. Community Questions and Bihar Politics, 1917-23 in, Indian Historical Review, Vol. 26, Nos. 1-2, July, 1989 & January, 1990.
  6. The 1946 Riots and the Exodus of Bihari Muslims to Dhaka, in, Dhaka, Past, Present, Future, Edited by Sharifuddin Ahmed, The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Publication No. 60, 1991.
  7. The Making of the Congress Muslim Stereotype: Bihar, 1937-39 in, Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. 28, No. 4, 1991.
  8. Articulating Community Rights : The Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha in Congress Bihar, 1937-39, in, Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. XIV No. 2, December, 1991.
  9. Peasants, Planters and Gandhi: Champaran in 1917, in Kaushal Kishore Sharma, Prabhakar Prasad Singh and Ranjan Kumar, Eds., Peasant Struggles in Bihar, 1831-1922: Spontaneity to Organisation, Patna, Janaki Prakashan, 1994.
  10. The Virile and the Chaste in Community and Nation Making : Bihar 1920’s to 1940’s in, Social Scientist, Vol. 22, Nos. 1-2, January-February, 1994.
  11. Reinvoking the Pakistan of the 1940s : Bihar’s Stranded Pakistanis, in, Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol II, No. 1, 1995.
  12. Recasting Nationalism: Nehruvian, Secularism and Syed Mahmud, in Journal of Historical Studies, No. 2, December 1996.
  13. Muttahidah Qaumiyat in Aqalliat Bihar : The Imarat-I-Shariah, 1921-1947, in Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. 34, 1997.
  14. Contesting Hindutava – Indian Muslim Americans, April, 1997.
  15. Colonial Muslim Politics in Bihar, in, Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. IV, No. 2, 1997.
  16. Partition’s Biharis in, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vol. XVII, No. 2, 1997; also in Mushirul Hasan (ed.), Islam, Communities and the Nation : Muslim Identities in South Asia and Beyond, Manohar, New Delhi, 1998.
  17. Pakistanis and Indians Outside South Asia in, Refugee Watch, Issue No. 12, December, 2000.
  18. The Changing Discourse of the Muhajirs, in India International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 2, New Delhi, 2001.
  19. Reclaiming South Asia, Conference Volume, Cosmopolitanism and the Nation State, 22 February, 2001, Prince Claus Fund & ADRI, Patna.
  20. Partition and South Asian Diaspora, in Om Prakash Mishra (Ed.), Forced Migration in the South Asian Region : Displacement, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Manak, New Delhi, 2004.
  21. Contemporary Patriarchies : Reconfigurations in Bihar in, Shakti Kak & Biswamoy Pati (Ed.), Exploring Gender Equations : Colonial and Post Colonial India, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, 2005.
  22. Writing Ganga-Jamni : in the 1940s and After, Social Scientist, Vol. 34 / Nos. 11-12, Nov-Dec, 2006.
  23. Shared Spaces; Khuda Baksh Library Journal, Patna, No. 146, October – December, 2006.
  24. “Pasmanda Politics in Bihar”, in Journal of Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library, Patna, No. 149, July – September 2007
  25. “Subcontinental Majoritarianisms”, in Contemporary Perspectives, History and Sociology of South Asia, Vol. 2, No. 1 January – June 2008 (Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia).
  26. Politics of Language & Culture in Bihar – Introductory Views.
Categories
Petitions For Justice Over The Years - A Brief Scan

Petition to Chief Secretary, Bihar, India, by Dr Tuktuk Ghosh, Papiya’s sister

Trials in the case of double murder of Prof. Papiya Ghosh of Patna University and Malti Devi on 3rd December 2006 at Patna
To: Cs-Bihar@nic.in
TO,
Shri Tripurari Sharan, IAS,
Chief Secretary,
Govt of Bihar,
Patna

Dear Mr. Sharan,
As the 15th anniversary of the murder of my sister, Professor Papiya Ghosh of Patna University, approaches, I request the Government of Bihar to provide information on the status of the two Trials as below, which have been denied to me for years , inspite of several communications to the Chief Minister and your predecessors.

The first Trial against five accused, STNo 188 of FTC, 2007 , Patna, had delivered a guilty verdict in 2008, with the death penalty for one accused ( not confirmed, however, by the Patna High Court) and varying terms of imprisonment for the others, which was reportedly challenged in the Supreme Court in a Criminal Appeal Case , Ram Chandra Mahto vs. State of Bihar, No. 10327/10. No details or developments of the case are available with me , inspite of many attempts to obtain them by corresponding with Shri Gopal Singh, Standing Counsel of the Bihar Government in Delhi.

In the second Trial, taken up after a long gap in 2012, in FT Court, ST No 1015 of ADJ 3, First Civil Court Patna, where astonishingly murder was NOT included as a charge, there has been evidently no progress on various grounds, inter-alia, related to case records not being provided, witnesses not showing up etc. As conveyed by Anil Kumar Sinha, Public Prosecutor, Government of Bihar (Mobile no 9905299936) the matter has reached a dead end.

In the circumstances, I urge you, as an aggrieved family member and a former Service colleague, to advise the concerned officials to take the following steps on an URGENT BASIS and kindly intimate the particulars to me via email or telephonically (Mobile- 9899811334).
1) Take up the matter- if not already done- in the Supreme Court so that the Appeal against the 2008 verdict is dismissed.
2) Take necessary steps so that the second Trial, referred to above includes the charge of murder u/s 302 IPC and is carried to its logical conclusion expeditiously. 

My father, Ujjal Kumar Ghosh, 1AS, I may add, was also a victim of a grisly Crime, while holding a senior position in the Government of Bihar, way back in 1957!

Both my father and sister, who contributed much in their own way to the State, await justice.

The macabre murders are an indelible blot on the State and agonising delay in securing justice a great shame, to put it very politely. I hope you will acknowledge and respond, unlike the others in the set-up, who preceded you.

With best wishes,
Dr. Tuktuk Ghosh, 1AS (Rtd)
New Delhi.
Categories
Books Review

Book Reviews

  • Mushirul Hasan, Nationalism and Communal Politics in India, 1885-1930, Manohar, New Delhi, 1991 in Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. 29, No. 1, March 1992.
  • J.B.P. Moore, The Political Evolution of Muslims in Tamil Nadu and Madras: 1930-1947, in Indian Review of Books, 16 December 1997-15 January, 1998.
  • Abdus Samad, A Strip of Land Two Yards Long, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1997 in Biblio : A Review of Books, Vol. 11, No. 12, November-December 1998.
  • “In the South Asian Diaspora”, Journal of Historical Studies, Nos. 5 & 6, June, 1999 – June 2000″.
  • Shadow Lives : Writings on Widowhood edited by Uma Chakravarti & Preeti Gill & The Hindu Widow in Indian Literature by Rajul Sogani in Biblio, Vol. VII, Nos. 9 & 10, November-December, 2002.
  • Debjani Sengupta (ed.), Mapmaking : Partition Stories from Two Bengals, Srishti Publishers, New Delhi, 2003 in Biblio: A Review of Books, Vol. VII, Nos. 11 & 12, November-December 2003
Categories
Uncategorized

Lots of Messages Poured

With you, always.

Shankar Dutt, Patna.

Will always remember you and your smiling face

Tara (Taru), Patna.

Part of me has gone with you, but all of you is with me and always will be.

Muniba, Patna

I knew Papiya not only as a colleague, but also as the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Ghosh. I had personal knowledge of her as a person and as a scholar and as a Teacher. She should be remembered as a person who combined in herself the best qualities as a Teacher, a Scholar, and a human being. I will miss her a lot.

Yuvraj Deva Prasad,
(Retd.) HoD, History, Patna University.
&
Prof. M.K Mallik,
Prof. Kameshwar Prasad,
Ajoy Kumar Singh,
Ranjan Sinha,
Nawal Kishore Prasad Singh,
Dept. of History, Patna University

It is a loss both to me personally and the whole fraternity of Modern Indian History. Papiya was a great friend, noble Soul and a person who always wished to do something innovative.

Dr. Pramodand Das,
Dept. of History,
Patna University.

Remembering today a rewarding friendship. Love you Papiya. Miss you greatly.

Neera Chandhoke,
C-516, Defence Colony. Delhi.

Will ever remember your forthnight and bold approach in life.

Shashi Shekhar,
Resident Commissioner, Tamil Nadu, Chanakyapuri, Delhi.

This is a serious blow to serious academic pursuit and decent endeavour. Irreparable loss.

Ajay Kumar, I.A.S., 25 Bailey Road, Patna.

A wonderful human being, a great Teacher-compassionate and caring. Deeply mourned. The loss will always be acutely felt!

Sagari Chhabra,
B-5/19, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi-29.

Last Wednesday, when you left for the 12:20 class, after a long chat we had, you had said “Sorry to leave you like this”. I’ll treasure and remember the things that we discussed!

Through me a number of people, some who knew you, and some who did not, have sent their Message. They are:

Prof. V.K Kantha, Mr. Ashok Kantha, your batch mate, Prof. Veena Srivastava, Prabhakar Sinha, President, Bihar, PUCL, Father Robert Athickal

Daisy ‘B’, you called me that.
Daisy Narain,
Dept. of History, Patna University.

Papiya! I find it difficult to find words to express my feelings of anguish on your most unexpected and shocking departure from our Department. It is indeed, a great loss to all of us. Your presence in the Department was highly inspiring. We shall always miss you a great deal and hope that your memories will continue to inspire us to maintain the academic environment in the Department.

Nihar Nandan Singh,
Dept. of History, Patna University.

It’s a big jolt to me personally as she was my batch mate. She is my first batch mate that I have lost. A brilliant teacher, a prolific writer and above all a super human being. Her brutal killing is a colossal loss not only to Bihar academics but all over the nation.

May God give peace to her soul in heaven and let her be re-born to serve the country.

S.K. Poddar,
Dept. of History, B.N. College, Patna.

Remembering her as a devoted, vivacious, student oriented Teacher. Papiya, we miss you. God bless your Soul.

Sr. Mary Beena S.N.D,
Notre Dame School, B.T.P.S Badarpur, New Delhi-110044.
Categories
Family, Friends & People

You had such an “invincible aura”…

Dearest Papiya,
You had become such a great confidant of mine. What you meant to me only you and I know. I will not be able to forget you since you were my closest and only neighbour. You will be remembered by me every time I pass this road to reach my house. You had such an “invincible aura” (like Prakash coined it) that we never thought you would come to this end. But your end was too pre planned and too big for any one, male or female, to handle. So you lived your life head held high – I always will admire you – you will be unforgettable!
Truly yours,
Neeta & Prakash,
Patna.

Neeta & Prakash,
Patna.

Categories
Tributes

Bihar Legislative Assembly

Dated 8 Dec 2006
Categories
Remembrances & Messages

As an alumnus of both St. Joseph’s Convent and ..

As an alumnus of both St. Joseph's Convent and Patna Women's College I pay my tributes to Dr. Papiya Gosh. She was an inspiration for everyone at PWC and her intellectual pursuits will reverberate forever in the corridors of Patna University and further beyond by her students and admirers. Hopefully this ghastly crime will spur the government and the public into making Patna a safe place for people who do not make their livings from crime and its associated business.

Dr. Jaya Vatsyayan, Pittsburgh, USA - Dec. 10, 2006