December 3, 2006 was aday like any other. When I switched on NDTV to catch the evening news I heard the shocking news that Papiys Ghosh and her maid were brutally killed in Patna. I knew Dr Papiya Ghosh very well when we studied our MA in history at the University of Delhi. I went on to do a Ph D in medieval history and she specialised in modern Indian history. Every weekend I used to walk up to PG Womens' Hostel on the Campus and meet Papiya and discuss things of mutual interest. She was an extremely generous and charming person and a great scholar who believed in meticulous research. I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone should so brutally assault and snuff her so promising life out in such a cruel manner. I heard the NDTV interview with Dr Tuk-Tuk Kumar and learnt of the horrendous nature of the injuries inflicted on her.
I remember seeing Papiya for the first time in the red faced building of the Arts Faculty of the University of Delhi. She was waiting for the MA admission list to be put up. I walked up to her and asked her whether she was the same Papiya of the Junior Statesman fame. She smiled and said "yes". From that beginning we remained friends throughout our stay in Dehi University. She decided to return home to Bihar, I suspect, because she had to take care of her mother. How different things would have turned out had she continued in Delhi.
In 1975 September there were serious floods in Patna. I saw Papiya sitting all by herself in the classroom and I went up and asked her why she looked so worried. She told me that flood waters had entered their house in Patliputra colony and she was extremely worried after her mother. She had a deep sense of duty and the way she encouraged her younger sister to take the plunge toward the IAS is testimony to he fact that she was really a devoted sister. Her younger sister Tuk-Tuk Ghosh too took her Ph D in history and has written a standard work on the hisory of Rice in ancient India.
This morning I received my copy of the Book Review. As tragic irony would have it, a book on the partition of India authored by Papiya Ghosh was advertised in the front inside cover.
Papiya Ghosh was a remarkable human being and personally speaking my life was enriched through my association with her. I deeply mourn her slaying and pray that her soul rests in peace.
