Professor Irfan Habib is a renowned professor emeritus at the Aligarh Muslim University. His corpus on Indian history is impressive. In a recent online note to a friend of mine in Tharparkar, he wrote: “I regret that despite writing a book [on the] Indus Civilisation, I have never been able to see a major Indus site, let alone Mohenjo Daro.”
It would be wonderful if the Sindh government, with a nod from Islamabad, were to invite Prof Habib for a couple of weeks to visit all the sites of interest to him along the Indus. Of course his trip (via Dubai) and his stay should be covered by our government; provincial or federal. The latter should also think of this visit as a way to rebuilding bridges with India that have been damaged in the last few years.
Such a trip would of course help to enliven historical scholarship locally through interaction between the learned professor and local academics as well as his television appearances.
Q ISA DAUDPOTA
ISLAMABAD
