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

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2023