Conversations with Ramchandra Guha: Engaging a Life of Scholarship
Several scholars who were influenced by Guha’s work or those who had collaborated with him, were present at the workshop to felicitate and discuss his work.
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1 May, 2018 | 4 min read
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May 2018: Ashoka University, in partnership with Oxford University Press and Penguin, organized a workshop on ‘Conversations with Ramachandra Guha: Engaging a Life of Scholarship’,in New Delhi on April 5 – 6, 2018. Several scholars, who were influenced by Guha’s work or those who had collaborated with him, were present at the workshop to felicitate and discuss his work, its contributions as well as shortcomings. Some of Guha’s finest works are in the fields of environmental studies, sociology, political sciences, cricket history, biographies and more.
Ramachandra Guha’s work has been hugely influential in shaping debates across several disciplines. In addition, through the New India Foundation and his own personal engagement, he has been very encouraging of other scholars. His public writing has been a source of secular and democratic reason and has contributed much public debate in India.
Mahesh Rangarajan, Dean of Academic Affairs at Ashoka University and eminent environmental historian, speaking at the inauguration of the two-day workshop said, “Ramachandra Guha’s work has brought us together from across from the world – Harvard University; University of Cambridge; King’s College, London; Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi; University of South Carolina; IIT Guwahati; University of Leicester, etc. and from a number of academic disciplines, which shows the diversity and interest we share in his contribution to academia. To Guha, criticism is the best way of appreciation. On occasion of his 60th birthday, in celebration of his work, we are here to appreciate and engage in critical dialogue of his work.”
Amongst other notable speakers present at the workshop were Professor Arupjyoti Saikia, Asst. Professor in History at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Guwahati, Joan Martinez Alier, Spanish Economist, Emeritus Professor of Economics and Economic History and Researcher at ICTA at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Dr Prashant Kidambi, Historian from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Professor Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Chancellor, Ashoka University to name a few.
