Library of Congress Response to Thapar Protest

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Library of Congress Response to Thapar Protest

Allen W Thrasher <athr

Romila Thapar Appointment Protest Petition

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I have been authorized to forward this official statement from the of Scholarly Programs at the Library of Congress about

Professor Thapar's appointment.

 

Allen Thrasher Senior Reference Librarian Asian Division Library of

Congress

 

Statement:

 

We acknowledge the emails, faxes, and telephone calls from many

people who have been in touch with us either to question or to

support the appointment of Professor Romila Thapar to a Kluge Chair

at the Library of Congress. We are aware that there is an email

petition circulating on the internet alleging that her scholarship is

political propaganda. We also have been in receipt of a large number

of testimonials from noted scholars of Indian history in the United

States and abroad supporting the appointment of Professor Thapar. The

volume of email is such that we are not able to acknowledge each

message individually. In brief, our response is that we are most

pleased to have an Indian historian of Professor Thapar's distinction

with us at the Library of Congress. Her many books already in the

collections of the Library of Congress testify that her work is

sympathetic to the ancient Indian and Hindu historical and cultural

traditions in highlighting their variegated and undogmatic quality,

and in making clear the complexity of Indian civilization.

 

Prosser Gifford Director of Scholarly Programs Library of Congress