Mushirul Hasan (15 August 1949 – 10 December 2018) was a historian of modern India and the former Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia. He wrote extensively on the partition of India, communalism, and on the history of Islam in South Asia. His works also awarded him with many awards such as
- Padma Shri (2007)
- Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, (2009–2011)
- Ordre des Palmes Académiques (2010), the list goes on
He is the author of several remarkable books, some among them are:
- A Nationalist Conscience: M.A. Ansari, the Congress, and the Raj, (1987)
- Nationalism and Communal Politics in India, 1885–1930 (1991)
- The Legacy of a Divided Nation: India’s Muslims Since Independence (1997)
- John Company to the Republic: A Story of Modern India (2001)
- Wit and Humour in Colonial North India (Niyogi Books: Delhi, 2007)
The lecture series is a tribute to all his works and an effort to keep his works alive and make Indians aware of the working of the country and their rights.
Lecture:
The lecture was held in Obaidullah Sindhi Hostel’s committee Room; Jamia Millia Islamia on January 26th, 2019. The topic of the lecture was “Idea of Justice and Equality in Indian Constitution”, the lecture was headed by Prof. Mohammad Asad Malik (Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, JMI) who thoroughly described the ideas that can be extracted from the term “Justice” for justice for someone maybe injustice for the other. He talked about social, economic and political justice etc. and by this, explaining the need for it and the good that it does for the inhabitants of a country. The concept of Equality was reminded to the people present in the lecture, through the articles of the constitution of India and social aspects as well. While talking about these, the lecture came to the topic of reservation, which is a hot topic after recent changes. He talked about how Dr. B. R. Ambedker formulated the governing of reservation processes and what’s left of it, where did we go wrong and where did we change it for good. The Indrasahni Case on Creamy layer was a hot topic in the discussion, where the attendees cross-questioned a lot about the concepts of reservation because it has become complex these days. The lecture ended by discussing Bhimpal Singh case, the Muslim Caste System based reservation, the vertical and horizontal reservation etc. The lecture concluded with a hope that such lecture series will help the people widening their perspective on the social issues and the law, and in doing so making the society a better place to live.