PROF. R S SHARMA IS NO MORE

"JANE WALE KABHI NAHI AATE, YAAD  UNKI  AATI HAI" Prof Ram Sharan Sharma, eminent historian specially specialised in Ancient History, has passed away of old age ailments yesterday, sending a shock wave in the academic world. He left for heavenly abode at the age of 91 years. Prof Sharma will be remembered for his revolutionary writings on history and will be remembered like the writers of Ved, Puranans, Koran, Bible etc for ever. Prof Sharma has written over one hundred path-breaking books on history like Shudras, in ancient India and Indian Feudalism. He made a mark for himself in Marxist studies as well as raising Patna university historical studies to considerable eminence in the field of Ancient India university. Coming from a humble background in united Munger district, now Begusarai district, had started his career from Patna University. Subsequently Prof Sharma joined Delhi University and also University of Toronto. In my opinion , Prof sharma was a great social reformer like Raja Ram Mohan Roy of greater Bengal. He was a great advocate of girl education at his younger age!

Prof D N Jha, a retired professor of Delhi university and his student has aptly remarked about Prof Sharma, quoting a few lines of famous Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into great night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day ;Rage, rage against the dying of light."Prof Jha has further said, "he fought against petty caste politics in the university system and outside and he fought against revivalism and obscurantism in the historical establishment in the country.His path breaking rationalist approach in his writings like Shudras, is first study of its kind-the modern days subaltern historians will be well advised to take lesson from it. His work mainly on the material culture and social formations highlights the interrelation between the growth of productive forces and the social, economic and cultural changes that took in early India. His seminal writings on  early Indian feudalism bring into focus the changing pattern of land ownership, the growth of agrestic labour, and the nature and mechanism of exploitation of peasants in early medieval times.His research on Aryan problem argues forcefully and convincigly against the xenophobes who treat Aryans as original in habitants of India and push back the antiquity of the Vedic texts to the Harappan period."

A founder Chairman of the Indian Council for Historical research from 1973 to 1979, Prof Sharma was crusader of revivalism and obscurantism- "whether the controversy about NCERT textbooks or the imaginary temple at Ayodhaya." He had the values of "egalitarianism and secularism and a man of compassion whose heart was always bleeding for the poor and the downtrodden"

I pray to Almighty for may his soul rest in peace. Generations, now called gen next must learn  lessons from Prof sharma's writings to keep themselves from dogmatic and orthodox feudal attitudes.