The Hindu : National : Additional charge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

National

National

Additional charge

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 31. The Human Resource Development Ministry today gave the additional charge of the office of Member-Secretary of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) to its deputy director, P.K. Shukla. He will hold the office till the appointment of a regular Member-Secretary.

Mr. Shukla will replace A.K. Ambasht — a director in the Ministry who has been holding additional charge of ICHR Member-Secretary — for the past two months. Dr. Ambasht was given the charge after the ICHR chairman, D.N. Tripathi, requested the Ministry to withdraw the former Union HRD Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi's appointee, Kapil Kumar.

Though the council has been functioning with an ad hoc Member-Secretary for nearly a year now, the chances of a permanent appointment in the near future appear remote as the Council has a number of members nominated by Dr. Joshi; some with known links to the RSS.

Since an ICHR nominee for the post has to be approved by the Council, there is a fear that it could create a confrontation within. Indications are that the Ministry and the ICHR will carry on with the ad hoc arrangement till early next year when the term of the present Council expires.

Meanwhile, the Ministry is understood to have filled up two vacancies in the council with Rajat Kant Ray of Presidency College, Kolkata, and K.N. Panikkar of Sanskrit College, Kochi.

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