NEW DELHI: Leading Indian historian and a scholar of partition, Professor Mushirul Hasan, died here on Monday after a prolonged illness. He was 69.

Professor Hasan met with a road accident on his way to Mewat in November 2014, and was under care at his home. He is credited with transforming as its vice chancellor Jamia Milia Islamia into a globally connected university, hosting international seminars and lectures by prominent thinkers and intellectuals.

His contribution at the Jamia included setting up several halls named after renowned figures. One of them was the Mir Taqi Mir hall, while others that sprang up during his watch were named after Noam Chomsky, Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela among others.

During his tenure, several scholars from across the world, who visited Delhi, loved to have a stop at Jamia and often agreed to hold a talk only if Professor Hasan would chair it. Subsequently, he also served as the Director of National Archive, New Delhi. He was elected as the President of Indian History Congress in 2002.

His father, Mohibbul Hasan, was also a historian at Jamia and the current Department of History is in the building named after his father. He joined Nehru Memorial as a fellow and during this time he wrote one of his most prominent books titled, Legacy of a Divided Nation: Indian Muslims since Independence.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2018