Mumbai: The British-era Asiatic Society heads to the polls this Saturday, with former Congress MP Kumar Ketkar and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe locked in a direct contest for presidency of the 221-year-old institution.
Though the contest is between two former Rajya Sabha MPs, both the candidates have emphasised they do not want to turn it into a political spectacle.
Ketkar said his campaign focuses on transforming the society into an international intellectual and arts centre, while Sahasrabuddhe’s pitch is to make the institution more accessible.
The society is currently led by Vispi Balaporia, an academician, as its president.
Sir James Mackintosh, a lawyer, founded the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, which traces its roots to the first meeting of the Literary Society of Bombay in 1804.
Up the majestic stairs of the grand and imposing Town Hall at Mumbai’s Horniman Circle stands the ‘Asiatic Library’, with its treasures of books and journals, ancient manuscripts, painted folios, coins, antiquities, maps and prints.
The society’s administration is overseen by a managing committee comprising its president, four vice-presidents, honorary secretary and 15 others chosen from resident members.
These 15 members of the committee are elected for a three-year term, while the president, four vice presidents and the honorary secretary are elected every alternate year and serve two-year terms.
The candidates
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is not only a former Rajya Sabha MP from 2016 to 2022, but he also served as national vice-president of the BJP from 2014 to 2018.
In 2018, he was appointed president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The former MP has been ideologically connected with BJP’s parent ideologue RSS and served as the party’s student wing (ABVP) national secretary between 1985 and 1987.
Sahasrabuddhe has been connected with the Asiatic Society since 2007.
Kumar Ketkar, along with being a former Rajya Sabha MP serving from 2018 to 2024, is also a writer and journalist. He was the editor-in-chief of Marathi newspaper Loksatta and Dainik Divya Marathi. In 2001, he was honoured with the Padma Shri.
Ketkar has been a harsh critic of the BJP, RSS and the Shiv Sena in the past. He has been connected with the society since 1983.
The contest
Saturday’s elections are for the posts of president, vice-presidents, honorary secretary, managing committee members and scrutinising committee members.
Apart from the two presidential candidates, there are eight candidates—four from each side—for four seats in the position of vice-president, and two candidates—one from each side—for the seat of honorary secretary.
Another 12 candidates, six from each side, will contest for six seats on the managing committee, while the remaining will be in the fray for scrutinishing panel members
The Vinay Sahasrabuddhe camp, consisting of 17 other candidates, includes educators, researchers, social scientists, journalists, writers, artists, legal and fiscal experts, and social workers.
A member of the Sahasrabuddhe panel told ThePrint, “The financial condition of the society is not in the best shape currently. The workers here are disgruntled, and the reachability of the society and of the library is only restricted to South Mumbai. This panel intends to bring financial resources and increase the institution’s reach to the city’s suburbs.”
Up against it is Kumar Ketkar’s panel—with 13 candidates, including the MP—aims to uphold traditions of the institution while steering in modernisation of not just technology but of new thoughts and ideas.
Ketkar’s motto is “to make the society an international, intellectual and arts centre”, Congress general secretary and a member of the campaign Dhananjay Shinde told ThePrint.
He added, “This society needs a dynamic person to lead the institution, and since Kumar Ketkar is more than just a politician but also a veteran journalist and writer, he is best suited for the role.”
When asked about the most important aims of the panel, Shinde said, “Collaboration of institutions such as libraries, would help make knowledge available to all. This panel will work towards connecting intellectuals, artists, philosophers and scientists around the world, to increase the reachability of the society and help in the assimilation of new thoughts and ideas.”
Members admitted up to 3 October this year are eligible to vote in the election.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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