Vikram Sampath, VD Savarkar's Biographer, Accused Of Plagiarism By Historians

Indian author and historian Vikram Sampath has been accused of plagiarism by three scholars in the United States. According to them, his essay on VD Savarkar had instances that were paraphrased verbatim. The scholars stated that Sampath's work was 'roughly 50%' plagiarised from other articles written by them.

Ananya Chakravarti wrote the letter along with Rohit Chopra and Audrey Truschke to the Royal Historical Society (RHS) president in the United Kingdom. In response to this, Sampath denied the allegations stating that they are 'libellous' in nature.

Thesis 'Largely Borrowed'

According to The Wire, the scholars' became suspicious when they first came across Sampath's essay on the Hindu nationalist, called 'The Revolutionary Vinayak Damodar Savarkar'. The letter said, "While Dr Sampath does cite this essay, he does so in passing without acknowledging that the central thesis is largely borrowed from Dr Chaturvedi's earlier (and pioneering) essay."

The plagiarism detection software proved his essay was 'roughly 50%' plagiarised. The historians allege that the phrases were lifted from two articles on Savarkar, 'A Revolutionary's Biography: The case of VD Savarkar' written by Professor Vinayak Chaturvedi published in 2013. The second one is 'Savarkar (1883-1966), Sedition And Surveillance: The rule of law in a colonial situation' by another Indian-origin professor named Janaki Bakhle.

Plagiarised From Veteran Historians

The rising suspicions resulted in the team looking into more of Sampath's works, including VD Savarkar's two-volume biography named 'Savarkar: Echoes From A Forgotten Past' and 'Savarkar: A Contested Legacy'. "Apart from established historians like Dr Chaturvedi and deceased eminent historians like RC Majumdar, Dr Sampath did not spare even the work of a deceased undergraduate from his predations," says the contentious letter.

Further, Dr Chaturvedi expressed his discontentment regarding the same. "It is very disappointing to learn about the situation. For anyone working on Savarkar knows that he had very high ethical standards in the production of knowledge, even from his supporters," he told the news publication.

As the allegations gained momentum, Dr Vikram Sampath stood his ground and denied them by citing an instance from a conference in 2017, where he presented his work. "I had, at that conference, cited not only my work but also the works of several other authors with attribution. The people who wrote this letter were not present at the event; hence, when the matter is taken to court, as it will be, their testimony is likely to be discounted.

Also Read: The Facts One Should Know About 'Veer' Savarkar