Jamia Establishes Endowment to Honour Renowned Historian, Former VC Mushirul Hasan
New Delhi: On Friday, Jamia Millia Islamia established the “Mushirul Hasan Endowment,” (MHE) named after the renowned historian and former vice chancellor of the university, Mushirul Hasan. As part of the endowment, an annual post-doctoral fellowship and two post-graduate merit-cum-means scholarships would be offered to the students.
Professor Hasan taught history, dedicating a major part of his academic life to the varsity where he then served as a pro-vice chancellor and eventually as vice chancellor from 2004 to 2009. Hasan passed away in 2018 after a prolonged illness.
An official notice from the university read, “An institution builder and educationist Prof. Mushirul Hasan devoted the major part of his academic life to the JMI where he taught history for long and served as Pro-Vice Chancellor and eventually as the Vice Chancellor.” August 15 is the birth anniversary of the late professor.
Zoya Hasan, Hasan’s wife and a former professor of political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University proposed to donate Rs 1.50 crore for its creation. She served as a member of the National Commission for Minorities from 2006 to 2009 and has also been a visiting professor to several foreign universities.
Mushirul Hasan and Zoya Hasan. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Annual Mushirul Hasan Post-Doctoral Fellowship will be for two semesters or nine months, which will be tenable at JMI, and which will be open to candidates below the age of 45 in all fields of Humanities and Social Sciences who have completed their Ph.Ds. in any Indian university. Candidates will have to submit their project proposals to the university which will make the final choice. To start with, the fellowship will carry a stipend of Rs 50,000 per month.
Two post-graduates merit-cum-means Mushirul Hasan Scholarships are also part of this endowment. These have been proposed for two years and are to be awarded each year to the students of the JMI’s Faculty of Humanities and Faculty of Social Sciences. A fresh masters first student will be chosen in year zero, who will get the scholarship for that year as well as the next.
Also read: Jamia Adds Another Feather in Its Cap, 30 Students Clear UPSC Exam
Another student from the second year of her MA, along with the student chosen in year zero, will also receive benefits. The official notice released by the university said, “If in year zero, a female student is chosen and in year 1 a male student, and so on, then the gender balance too can be maintained. Both the students would have to meet both means and merit criteria, and each new scholar will have to be selected from among the list of eligible applicants.” This scholarship will carry a stipend of Rs. 10,000 per month.
Besides, an Annual Mushirul Hasan Memorial Seminar on any theme related to contemporary history, society and politics of India has also been proposed by Zoya Hasan. The Centre for Dalit and Minorities Studies will be entrusted with proposing themes and organising the one-day seminar.
A nine-member committee headed by the vice chancellor JMI Professor Najma Akhtar has also been constituted by the university for administering the endowment. This includes Zoya Hasan, Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, CESP, JNU, Suranjana Das, VC, Jadavpur University, Dean, Faculty of Humanities & Languages, JMI, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, JMI, Head of the Department, History, JMI and the Registrar, JMI who will be the convenor of the committee.
Earlier, as a mark of respect for Hasan’s commitment to Jamia Millia Islamia, Dr Zoya Hasan had gifted Hasan’s book collection to the central library of the university in 2019, together with several other memorabilia including his Padmashri award to the Munshi Premchand Archives, Jamia Millia Islamia.
This article went live on August sixteenth, two thousand twenty, at zero minutes past seven in the morning.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
