Developing sustainable eco-tourism

India's academia looks up awe-inspiringly to the honest chronicler and interpreter of India's ancient history for her objectivity and true-to fact analysis. Romila Thapar, the historian and professor emerita whose has authored of several books including the popular volume, A History of India, who has repeatedly turned down national civilian honours because she believes in the validity of accepting acknowledgement only in the professional field, has been made a subject of controversy owing to this unexpected pettiness on the part of the nationally renowned Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known for being a hotbed of ideological transformation of many students. Demanding Ms. Thapar's CV to carry on with their due process points to two things: first, and most obviously, targeting a known entity for upholding and maintaining views that are most often at variance with some right-wing hardline political outfits; the second is a more deeply rooted social convention akin to the widely criticised and largely feudal VIP culture where a certain VIP is supposedly exempt from all the common laws and regulations. With respect to the second aspect of this intellectual affront to the authority on ancient Indian history, the official procedures with respect to paper work ought to have been better organised and established effectively to justify any such case as with Ms. Thapar. But coming to the more prominent aspect of this outrageous move, there is a need to understand that facts may be liked or disliked but they cannot be changed to suit the convenience and agenda of any individual or organisation. Universities are cradles of ideas and places of learning and should be kept safe from becoming borrows of greater politics influencing the nation at large.