She says JNU has given its approval, but has also asked the culture ministry to ensure that she is not put to any disadvantage on account of salary or designation. The ministry’s response was to ask Mukherjee to join first. It promised to sort out the matter later. The post of director, NMML, is equivalent to that of a reader while Mukherjee is a professor on a Rs 21,000-plus scale on the university rolls. Her acceptance, on the present terms and conditions, would perhaps be a loss of status. Interestingly, Mukherjee’s predecessor, O.P. Khejriwal, who joined the library when he was additional secretary to the Government of India, continued to get the salary befitting his status.
Respect is all that the good professor is asking for right now. Reddy, on his part, blames it on procedural delays. "A choice has been made and we should be able to sort out the matter shortly," said Reddy. Till he does, Mukherjee has decided to wait and watch. "My university has no objections to my joining the library but it has pointed out that the government should protect my salary and get the designation on par with the post I am holding right now," she says. Given that Mukherjee’s appointment was approved at the highest levels, it is indeed surprising that the matter has not been sorted out yet.
