Indian Council of Historical Research

The Indian Council of Historical Research(ICHR) is a Society ( registration number 5339). The ICHR is registered under Societies registration Act 1860 with the Department of Industries of Delhi Government, Delhi.

Role ICHR is a fund disbursing agency that supports the academic and empirical research of scholars out of the funds received from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. ICHR does not carry out any historical research of its own. None of the academic staff manning the ICHR conducts any historical Research for or on behalf of the ICHR.

Sources of Funds and no Checks thereon by the Ministry and redundant role of of CAG of India

ICHR is fully funded by way of Grants-in- Aid by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. All the rules as applicable in the Central Government of India are applicable in ICHR. ICHR also receives funds from the various State Governments of India , from other Ministries like Ministry of Culture, and from the private individuals as well. ICHR received substantial amounts from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, from the State of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and other states of India. But there is no effective means of checking or monitoring the expenses or funds' disbursement.

The Reports of the Comptroller Auditor General of India are marked to the Director of ICHR with copy to the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. The Ministry being an info addressee leaves it on ICHR itself to take action. As a result the ICHR has the final say. Whatever irregularities are pointed out by the CAG are either dropped or automatically get dropped after maximum time of ten years.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development goes by whatever the ICHR says. The HRD Minister has recently rendered the reply (as given by the ICHR)as regards the Draft Para regarding unauthorised Home Office of the Honorary Chairman of ICHR(MGS Narayanan). The Chairmen following Narayanan have not done away with the Home Office ( either the home of the Honorary Chairman of ICHR fully furnished, renovated and staffed by the funds made available to the ICHR by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for research or a house sized building hired in the home city of the Honorary Chairman,furnished and staffed out the funds of the ICHR) they have been provided the same facilities objected to by the CAG of India but the Home Office is renamed as Camp Office.

ICHR received crores of rupees for Research on Emperor Akbar of medieval Indian History), on research on Guru Gobind Singh ( the revered Tenth Guru of the Sikh Community in India), and more than Five crores of Indian rupees for the research during the celebration of the 150 years of the India deemed First War of Indian Independence of 1857. The Government has done over with the Project but the ICHR continues to celebrate.

Fellowships and Grants

The  following fellowships and grants are disbursed throughout the year (But unlike University Grant Commission and other Research Bodies in India ICHR disburses funds  without any written test, without any interview and without any advertisement in the National Mainstream  News Papers ).

1. Junior Research Fellowship 2. General (Post-Doctoral) Fellowship 3. Senior Research Fellowship 4. Research Project 6. Contingency (Study- cum-Travel) Grant 7. Foreign Travel Grant 8. Publication Subsidy 9. Seminar/Workshop/Conference Grant 10. National Fellowship 11. Senior Academic Fellowship 12.Publication Subsidy 13 Grant for holding Seminar and Conferences.

Office Building and Housing for Staff ICHR has no office building of its own. It has been in the rented building ever since 1972 in the premises 35, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi-110001. Whereas the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) moved out of the 35, Ferozeshah Road premises, the ICHR has been resisting all moves to move out of the current building.

Manpower and Recruitments The man power requirement and the recruitment in ICHR has been the subject of controversy and complaints. Keeping in view its nature of work the special team of the Ministry of Human Resource Development had recommended that considering its 'postman' role the staff strength for ICHR should be between 30 to 35. But it is more than 100 as given in Appendix III.

The lower clerical and research staff is invariably brought to in ICHR first as daily wagers, later regularized and that too without any advertisement and without following the provisions of Essential Notification Act through the Employment exchange meant for the purpose.

Posts of Director and Member Secretary

The posts of Member Secretary and that of the Directors, once occupied by the eminent Professors of the country, has fallen down to Lecturer grades (Associate Professor) rather than to well qualified and eminent Professors, due to considerations other than academic.

Ascendancy over the Ministry? The controlling and funding Ministry for ICHR has reportedly become a hand maiden of ICHR itself. There are many Historical Research institutions in India who were formed on the lines of the ICHR but its ICHR only that receives about 14 Crores of Indian Rupees annually from the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. During the year 2009-2010 the ICHR got a total sum of Rs. 12,93,49,000/- (Rupees Twelve crore ninety three lakh forty nine thousand only) from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Annual Report (2009–2010) 17.

The recent Report of the Committee to Review the functioning of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), New Delhi has brought inter alia out the fact that "At present urgent work has to be often conducted by people retired from the ICHR". There are the retired employees who are septuagenarians. There are promising scholars in the Country who are not getting chance to carry out historical research in ICHR the way the retired employees of ICHR itself are carrying on. The Reports are that the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Comptroller Auditor General of India found large scale recruitment and other irregularities but the vote politics has kept the old hats on their desks.

The ICHR was formed as a Society by three historians namely Professor Satish Chandra, Professor JS Garewal and Dr MN Prasad who was then the Director of National Archives of India . The central Government in 1972 under the ministership of Professor Saiyyid Nurul Hasan, the then the Union Minister of State (with independent charge) of Education, Social Welfare and Culture, Government of India initiated steps to fully fund the Society for ever.

ICHR later on, surprisingly , was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to Ministry of Human Resource Development.

ICHR has been reconstituted by the Department of Higher Education Ministry of Human Resource Development every three years. The Chairman is nominated for a period of three years by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. The members of the Council of ICHR are also nominated by the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry. There is no system of the states nominating the historians of the respective state. Mainly the political connections are at work.

The members of the Council of ICHR are expected to help the historical researchers and not to award themselves the grants and fellowships. But the records of the ICHR reveals that most of the members of the Council benefit themselves by receiving fellowships and various grants. There is no provision for funding the Home office of the Chairman of ICHR . Despite the Audit Reports of the Comptroller Auditor General of India about this financial irregularity the Home Office renamed as the Cam office continues.

The Council of ICHR was last reconstituted by the Department in September 2008. The constitution is due and the new Council members are required to be announced in September 2011. Every community, every region, every state and discipline of history need to be given representation But the Ministers in charge of Human Resource Development are more influenced by the vote factors than the merit or than the recommendations from the Stae Governors. The current HRD Minister, Kapil Sibal who is representing Chandni Chouk constituency of Delhi, India in Lok Sabha (House of People) has been reportedly under more pressure and has been bending under it to accommodate persons based on Vote factors rather than merit. For instance the retired assistant Director, Section officer and Deputy Director level employees of ICHR have been allowed to be retained as Consultants and 'experts' in contravention to the Government of India's policy , applicable in ICHR.. The Councils like ICHR being controlled by an Officer of Indian Revenue Service rather than an educationalist.

Earlier two Union Ministers who were in-charge of HRD Ministry namely SR Bomai of Bangluru. Karnataka and Mr. Saikia from Guwahati established regional centers in their home cities i.e., ICHR North-East Regional Centre (Guwahati) and ICHR Southern Regional Center (Bangalore) to placate the locals scholars.

Contents

Objective

Chairmen

Directors

Member Secretaries

The ICHR publishes two journals: the Indian Historical Review (bi-annually) and Itihas (in Hindi). In addition, it provides publication subsidy to seminars, books, congress proceedings and journals.

References

External links