It is amusing to see some of these authors trying to equate Muslim barbarism (entirely premedititated and planned) with Hindu and Sikh retaliation, the former had the advantage of having in control majority of the Punjab police and being a substantial part of the army, on top of this there was the Muslim National Guard made up of Muslim rapists and criminals, compared with this the Hindu and Sikh retaliation came very late and was very benign compared to what they deserved, outside of Punjab proper the rest of the job was done by Hindus in Haryana mainly.
Time News is biased.
No news what happened to British army, they were in barracks or left.
These news reports give some picture, what was happening in Punjab during partition. Princely rulers were greedy, till last they were asking money. Some leftovers are still causing problem in India. e.g Arjun Singh, VP Singh, Digvijay Singh, Natwar Singh and Karan Singh.
10 Feb 1952 link
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>1952: India passes first test of democracy</b>
The Congress Party of India, led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, has won an outright victory in the country's first general election.
The party has won 249 of the 489 seats contested in the Lower House, and even with 133 results yet to be declared it is clear that the Congress Party will control the next Parliament.
The victory has earned Pandit Nehru a further five-year term in office. He has led the interim government since 1947, when power passed from British to Indian hands, but this makes him India's first prime minister to be elected by universal suffrage.
<b>Democracy test </b>
The elections are widely seen as a test for India's ability to succeed as a democracy following independence from Britain two years ago.
They are the first to be held under the new constitution, drawn up with the British parliamentary system as a model.
There were fears that extremist groups would use the opportunity to whip up inter-ethnic tensions, but to everyone's relief voting has so far gone peacefully.
The polling operation is on a massive scale.
There are 176 million people eligible to vote, although only 15% can read or write.
Symbols are being used on ballot papers for each of the parties and independent candidates, so that those who cannot read know where to cast their vote.
Voters are not even required to mark their ballot papers - they simply have to put them into a box marked with the symbol of their favoured candidate.
<b>State setbacks </b>
About 18,000 candidates are running for 4,412 seats: 497 in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament, and the rest in state government.
Although the Congress Party, which has been inextricably linked with the drive for independence, has secured an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections, it suffered some unexpected setbacks in state elections.
In three southern states in particular - Madras, Hyderabad and Travancore-Cochin - the party failed to win an outright majority in the face of strong support for the Communist Party.
The result has caused some concern in the Congress Party. The states do not have to follow central government policies, so the Communist Party's strength there could potentially cause the government serious difficulties.
However, two of the most feared militant parties - the Hindu Mahasabha, and the separatist Sikh Akali Party - did so badly that both parties are expected to collapse following the elections.
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<span style='color:red'>Satvahana period habitation site found near Chandrapur</span>
May. 12th, 2007
by Mazhar Ali
CHANDRAPUR, May 11 IN an significant discovery of historic importance, the office-bearers of Indian National Trust for Art Culture and Heritage (INTACH), Chandrapur Chapter, have found a new habitation site dating back to early historic period of Satvahana (235 BC), near village Chandankhe-da in Bhadravati tehsil, 45 km from Chandrapur.
Ashok-singh Thakur, noted historian and convener of INTUCH, Chandrapur Chapter and Surendersing Gautam, Co-convener found many implements, pieces of terracotta pottery and other antiquities resembling to Satvahana period near Chandankheda. The alert historians immediately understood the importance of finding and thoroughly explored the area. Some 500 meters away from the village, in an area excavated for soil to bricks making, they found huge amount of scattered pieces of pottery and toy made of terracotta, many household tools and a large utensil used for water storage, made of stone, pieces of human bones and many more antiquities. Close examination of excavated strata revealed layers of sediment deposit embedded with pottery, rock structures and different type of implements and tools made of iron.
Large number of pieces of human bones was also found deposited in the layers. Excavation done up to 12 feet for brick making had also exposed the structural remains belonging to satvahana period. Square shaped brick structure exposed in the strata resembles to other Satvahana structures found in other parts of Vidarbha. The duo also successfully unearthed iron tools, implements and tool of iron and many intact terracotta pots that belong to Satvahana period. Talking to âThe Hitavadaâ, Ashoksing Thakur, Convener of INTACH, Chandrapur Chapter, said, âthis discovery is of great significance, as the site found near village Chandankheda is a new site. So far historical sites explored and excavated in the region by archaeologist were originally noticed and mentioned by British explorers during pre independence period.â
It is biggest habitation site of Satvahana period so far found in Vidarbha, he claimed. So far habitation site of Satvahana were found in Adam, Mandal, Arambha, Paoni, Pawnar, Kindiyanpur, Arni and Kayer along with Bhadravati in Chandrapur district, he informed. Satvahana dynasty, whose reign dates back to 235 BC, has great historical importance in India. Major portion of southern India was ruled by as many as thirty kings of Satvahana dynasty for over 450 years. Recently seal of Satkarni, the Third Emperor of Satvahana Dynasty (194 BC- 185BC) was found in Bhadravati, confirming the presence of Satvahana reign in this region. Rock cut caves of Vijasan in Bhadravati also belongs to Satvahana period. Capital of Satvahana dynasty was âPratishtanâ now known as Paithan, located on the bank of river Godawari in Aurangabad district, he added. Thakur informed that newly discovered habitation site is spread in 18 hectors and it could bear the details of various culture, dating even before to Satvahana.
Dr Chandrashekhar Gupta, former Head of the Department of Ancient History, Culture and Archeology (AICH&A) RTM Nagpur University, Dr Pradip Meshram, Head of Department of AICH&A and Dr K Ismail, Reader, AICH&A, who visited the site confirmed its historic richness, Thakur informed. If the site were excavated thoroughly by Archeological Survey of India, Archeologists and Historians would be able to understand art and architectural details, besides material culture and the date of hidden ancient structures.
One of the murky aspects of Indian history is the overthrow of the Hinduized Iranian rulers, the Kushanas and the mahA-kShatrapa-s. We know that the mahA-kShatrapa-s appear to be descendants of the shAka haumavarga, and held sway mainly in the Western part of India. After a glorious rise under rudra-dAman these Iranians appear to have declined gradually and moved into oblivion, with their military power curbed by the andhras (shatavAhanas). The end of the kushAnas appears to have been more dramatic, especially in the mainland of Aryavarta. Given that these Iranians were thoroughly Hinduized it is not clear if a major nationalist response to them was initiated -- i.e. similar to something against the Macedonians of Alexander or much later the movement of the later gupta-s against the hUNa rAjas. However, it is clear that the original kShatriya-s who were overrun by the Iranians were not going to take their subordinate status lying down and eventually organized the struggle that destroyed the kushAna rule.
There are claims in the tamil epic the shilap-padhikAraM that the chera king senguttavan defeated a certain kaniShka in Aryavarta. He is said to have made this kanaka and another ruler vijaya carry the image of pattini (kaNNaki-ammAl) to the drAviDa country. There is little clarity on what this meant. Altekar argued using numismatic evidence that it was the yaudheya republic that overthrew the kushAnas. Altekar correctly inferred that prior to the kuShAna period, the yaudheya republic's territory encompassed a northern Rajasthan and Punjab/Haryana of modern times. One of their chief capitals was the great kaumAra center of rohitaka (Rohtak), their patron deity being kumAra. The mahAbharata states that the republic was founded by the son of yudhiShThira through devikA, a princess of the ANava kingdom of the shaibhyas.
The yaudheya republic was overrun by the kushAnas under kanishka who annexed their territory to his empire. In 145 AD they made their first attempt at breaking the stranglehold by declaring independence in Northern Rajasthan. The kushAna-s took the aid of their co-ethnic rudra-dAman to crush the yaudheyas. He declares with much pride in the Junagad inscription that the yaudheya-s who were much respected for their valor by all the kShatriya-s were destroyed by his sena which moved northwards to smother their attempt at revolt. For about 30 years after this crushing defeat the yaudheya-s seemed finished. But they rose again defeating the kShatrapa-s in the south and then in a series of battles driving out the kushAna-s from the original yaudheya territory. After this point the kushAna-s lost the entire territory east of the shutudri (Sutlej) river to the yaudheyas, and subsequently crumbled and disintegrated eventually becoming vassals of the Sassanid rulers of Iran in the extreme west. After this victory of the yaudheyas, we notice their cities reviving again in places corresponding to modern Rohtak, Dehra Dun, Saharanpur, Delhi, Ludhiana and Kangra. The latter city was originally founded by the audumbarAyanas, who were destroyed completely by the kushAna-s. This glorious victory against and overthrow of one of the most powerful empires of the world of that era, one which had defeated the chIna-s and taken as hostage a prince and princess of the Han chIna-s, greatly increased the the prestige of the yaudheya republic. Their victorious advance of the yaudheya-s was attributed to the jaya-mantra of the brahmaNya deva -- a point often mentioned in the legends of their coins below the image of a spear-wielding skanda ("yaudheyANam jaya mantra dharANAM"). A point of interest that Altekar noted regarding the yaudheya coins was that the script used was brAhmi and not Greek or even kharoShThi, as was typical of the kushAna-s who also had coins with kumAra images. This might indicate that yaudheya-s were explicitly flaunting their national spirit by repudiating the foreign and northwestern scripts.
The study of the coin inscriptions has also been noted that the yaudheya republic grew by amalgamation of other republic they incited into the overthrow of the kushAna-s. These were: 1) the enigmatic arjunAyana-s, who claimed descent from the pANDu hero and liberated the territory in the Agra-Jaipur zone. 2) kuNinda-s who liberated the area in the north-west between the shutudri and vipAshA (Beas). Some historians feel that the numbers '2' or '3' coming after the legend yaudheya-gaNasya jayaH indicated these associated republics that coalesced with the core yaudheya-s. Their rule was one of the golden periods of the kaumAra sect, with the development of much of the classical kaumAra mantra-shAstra.
Yaudheya's were a remarkable people and republic (gaNa).
Rahul Sankrityayana had written a historical novel in Hindi titled "Jaya Yaudheya". It seems the only translation available is in Marathi. He was a scholar of Sanskrit and Pali and also wrote a history of central asia. Despite his marxist leanings he was widely respected as a great scholar. I can't find any copies of "Jaya Yaudheya" in any local libraries.
05-14-2007, 05:05 AM (This post was last modified: 05-14-2007, 05:21 AM by Bodhi.)
<!--QuoteBegin-Ashok Kumar+May 13 2007, 06:19 PM-->QUOTE(Ashok Kumar @ May 13 2007, 06:19 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Yaudheya's were a remarkable people and republic (gaNa).
Rahul Sankrityayana had written a historical novel in Hindi titled "Jaya Yaudheya". It seems the only translation available is in Marathi. He was a scholar of Sanskrit and Pali and also wrote a history of central asia. Despite his marxist leanings he was widely respected as a great scholar. I can't find any copies of "Jaya Yaudheya" in any local libraries.
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Ashokji, the wonderful novel of Sri Rahul Sanskrityayan, 'Jaya Yaudheya' is available to read online here.
One question to Hauma Hamiddha-ji. Meos in Haryana and west UP, claim to be descendants of Yaudheyas. Despite having converted to Islam, they continue to sing the songs of the valor and victory of Yaudheyas. How historically true could their connection with Yaudheyas be?
<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+May 14 2007, 05:05 AM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ May 14 2007, 05:05 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ashokji, the wonderful novel of Sri Rahul Sanskrityayan, 'Jaya Yaudheya' is available to read online here.
One question to Hauma Hamiddha-ji. Meos in Haryana and west UP, claim to be descendants of Yaudheyas. Despite having converted to Islam, they continue to sing the songs of the valor and victory of Yaudheyas. How historically true could their connection with Yaudheyas be?
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Thank you so much for the link! <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Besides "JohiyAs" (apabhransha of yaudheya) in Pakistan, "meva" in gurgaon and alwar, he mentions few more names as descendent people of yaudheyas. At the end of the introduction Rahul Sankrityayan writes that Agrawal, AgraharI, rohatagI, rastogI, shrImAla, osvAl, varNavAl, gahoI etc castes, currently classified as vaishyas, are descendents of yaudheyas, and were forced to take up business-professions after giving up the sword.
P.S. Just noticed that the IISC site has 6 of his books under his correct name "rahul sankrityayan", but "jay yodheya" (sic), is listed under "rahul sanskrityan". There is another version of his name in the listings "rahul sankratyayan", and one more "rahul sankrityaayan". Best bet is to search under "rahul" only to track all his books. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
At that IISC site, I also found Acharya Chatursen's hindi novel on rAvaNa, "vayaM rakShAmaH"
This novel has a large number of chapters devoted purely to pre-history of India. He writes in the intro that this book gathers his studies spread over decades including vedic litreature, puranas etc. Just check the table of contents for a feel.
It would be great to have such books translated into english too. Many such vernacular writers attempted to systematize the prehistory of India by considering many sources in original. Besides such stories have a large inspirational (or psy-ops if you prefer) value.
JFI-From another thread
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Any information on Rahul Sankrityayan?
Who is he?
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He was Marxist historian but quite different from the rest of that group. Rahul Sankrityayan was an adopted name of his not his original one-- yes he was of the same gotra as you.
05-14-2007, 09:15 AM (This post was last modified: 05-14-2007, 09:17 AM by Bodhi.)
His famous essay 'athaato ghumakkad jigyasa' is the most famous introduction to him that every Hindi student learns in the school text books. In this, he proves the importance of traveling, and shows that one who does not learn to travel, learns nothing, one who wants to learn, has to wander around, and how travelers are the ones who have not just written history but made it - from Gautama Buddha to Adi Shakar, to Ramanuj, to Nanak, to Columbus to Vasco de G to Mongols - all of them wanderers.
Sanskrityayan himself was a wanderer, and lived in several countries. He was best known for his hold on Mahayana Bauddha darshan. He traveled to and lived in Tibet and Sri Lanka and wrote in Hindi especially on Dirgha Nikaya. It is a pity (or conspiracy?) that these treasures are not available in English, and restricted to Hindi.
His original name was Kedar Nath Pandey. HH-ji what was his gotra?
<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+May 13 2007, 10:45 PM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ May 13 2007, 10:45 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->His original name was Kedar Nath Pandey. HH-ji what was his gotra?
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sankR^ityAyana a branch of the vasiShTha-s from his son shakti and grandson gaurIviti.
....
As Ashok-ji said a number of groups from around the Harayana-Delhi zone might have organic connections with the ancient yaudheyas. However, culturally they have not links today. The yaudheya worship of kumAra has largely faded in that region except for a somewhat neglected center in Rohtak that is still visited by the followers of the kaumAra path. Most interestingly, after the hUNa invasions (presumably) there were several migrations of the kaumAra Acharyas of the original yaudheya zone and Mathura to: 1)Nagar Haveli; 2) Eastern Vanga, 3) Tirunalveli in TN. This radiation seeded the kaumAra sect over India, but they still maintain memories of the great center in rohitaka.
I remember reading somewhere that Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad did not want the partition to happen but his reasons were different, it was so because a partition would halt the process of Islamification of India. I definitely know this is true but can someone confirm it for me?
12-08-2007, 02:54 AM (This post was last modified: 12-08-2007, 03:01 AM by Bodhi.)
From Marco Polo's travelogue:
<b>on Bhagwan Gautam Buddha:</b>
... He left the palace, and journeyed into great and trackless mountains, where he spent his whole life virtuously and chastely, observing rigid abstinence; <b>so that had he been a Christian, he must have been a very great saint</b>....
<b>on India:</b>
... When you depart from Seilan, and go westward about sixty miles, you come to the extensive province of Maabar, on the mainland. <b>It is called India, the Greater, and is indeed the noblest and richest country in the whole world</b>... {Seilan - Ceylon}
<b>one king (or even a satrap) he encounters:</b>
... The king ... wears a necklace full set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other precious stones, worth a great treasure. He has also suspended from his neck a silken cord, reaching a pace down, and containing 104 of the largest pearls and most valuable rubies. It is worn because he repeats everyday, morning and evening, 104 prayers in honour of his idols. To this he is bound by his faith and religion, by the example and injunction of his ancestors. He wears also round three parts both of his arms and legs, bracelets of gold, full of goodly stones and pearls. In short, the number of his jewels is surprising, being of more value than a handsome city, and no wonder, since they are all produced in his own dominions. ...The accumulation of treasure, so rare in Europe, is a general policy of oriental princes....
<b>Wonderment at regular bathing of people:</b>
... Both men and women wash the whole body in water twice every day, morning and evening, and till then will neither eat nor drink. He who omits this observance is regarded as we do a heretic. ...
<b>On diamonds of AP:</b>
... Masulipatam, at this kingdom we arrive after departing from Maabar and travelling northward about a thousand miles. It is subject to a queen of great wisdom, whose husband died forty years ago, and her love to him was such that she has never married another. In this kingdom, you must know, is found the diamond ; ...men search through the ground previously inundated, and find the gems. while fierce and venomous serpents inspire great fear; yet those who venture thither discover valuable diamonds....;
Now this is the only country in the world containing these precious stones; and do not suppose that the best come to our Christian countries; they are carried to the great khan {referring to his chinese host} and other lords of those regions, whose ample treasure enables them to purchase these.
<b>Brahmans of Kerala:</b>
...province lying westward of this place, and thence came originally all the Abraiamain in the world. These are the best and most honest of all merchants, and
would not on any account tell a lie. They neither eat flesh nor drink wine, are faithful to their wives, and lead every way very virtuous lives. They take nothing from any one, and do nothing that could be considered a sin. They are all known by a silk thread worn over the shoulder, and tied beneath the opposite arm, so that it passes across both the breast and back. There are among them an order named cuigui {yogi?}, who live to an extraordinary age, even 150 or 200 years, yet can perform all the service of the monastery and idols as well as younger men. This is owing to their great abstinence in eating and drinking; for they subsist mostly on rice and milk.
<b>Right wing historians to challenge Leftists in history congress</b>
By Arun Anand, New Delhi, Dec 28 : The 68th annual session of the Indian History Congress, the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians, beginning here Friday is all set to witness another round of ideological battle between the right wing and Marxist historians.
Even as preparations were in full swing at Delhi University on the eve of the three-day Congress where about 1,000 delegates are expected to participate and deliberate over various aspects of history and archaeology in the Indian context, the right wing historians were bracing up to ask some tough questions from the Leftists by distributing a controversial book to the delegates attending the Congress.
The book is a collection of articles analysing India's first war of independence in 1857. These articles, authored by historian Devendra Swarup, were earlier published in the weekly "Organiser" which is considered to be the mouthpiece of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India's highly influential Hindu group.
Swarup said: "We want Marxist historians to come clean on this. We would like them to respond to what we have put forward in this book." The book has 28 articles - all critical of Marxist historians.
The book titled, "Did Moscow Play Fraud on Marx? The Mystery of Marx-Engels' articles on 1857", is likely to be the focal point of a major controversy even as the right wing historians grouped under the banner of Historians Forum are set to distribute this book and ask Leftist historians to respond.
The book attacks Marxist historians, questioning the validity of their viewpoint on India's first war of independence based on Marx's interpretation of the events. It claims that Indian Marxists have propagated this myth that Karl Marx, who was reporting from London for some newspapers at that time, wrote extensively about India's struggle for freedom in 1857.
The book, based on extensive research, claims that the archives nowhere reflect that Marx wrote more than a couple of articles on events in India in 1857. The book launches a scathing attack on noted contemporary and past historians and intellectuals known for their Left leanings such as Irfan Habib, Rajni Palme Datt and Mulkraj Anand.
Swarup in this book terms the Left viewpoint on such important events in history as nothing less than a "pitiable example of intellectual servility". The book also criticises Leftist historians for following blindly the viewpoint of Marx, who according to Swarup, termed British civilisation superior to India.
The Indian History Congress was established in 1935 and currently has around 10,000 members. The Constitution of Indian History Congress describes it as a body to promote and encourage scientific study of Indian history.
<b>Mangalore: Copper coins throw light on Banavasi Kadambas </b>
MANGALORE Jan 11: A collection of copper coins discovered by a numismatist in Mangalore throws light on the Banavasi Kadamba rulers. <b>The dynasty ruled much of western Karnataka for about 300 years from the IV Century (circa 325 AD to 620 AD)</b>.
It was numismatist Manjeshwar Mukund Prabhu who was the first to recognise the importance of the coins. Mr. Prabhu, who knows epigraphy, read the ascriptions on the coins that clearly establish that it belonged to Kadambas.
Chief of Department of Studies in Ancient History and Epigraphy of Karnatak University Srinivas V. Padigar points out that there was no single coin till now that is clearly ascribed to the Kadambas. "All the coins we had so far were mostly of doubtful ascription," he said. What establishes this fact beyond any doubt are bold letters that together read as "Shree Dosharashi". Dosharashi is an alternative name of Raja Ravivarma II, the last of the great kings of Kadamba dynasty.
Prof. Padigar points out that Ravivarma belonged to one of the three streams of Kadamba dynasty known as Thriparvata. The dynasty had split into three streams ïžâ the other two being Ucchangi and Banavasi. Ravivarma II reunited the dynasty, Prof. Padigar says.
He also points out in a letter to Mr. Prabha that copper plate inscriptions found earlier had established that Ravivarma II was known by the epithet Dosharashi.
On why would a king use such awkward (dosha means imperfection and rashi means a group) sounding epithet, Prof. Padigar suggests that Dosha could also mean darkness and represent "Krishna."
He told The Hindu over phone from Dharwad that the word also meant "moon."
Deputy Superintendent of Epigraphy for Director (Epigraphy) of Archaeological Survey of India, Mysore, too has written to Mr. Prabhu confirming the ascription of the coin to Ravivarama II. "The legend is in early Kannada characters of the 5th-6th century AD," he says.
Mr. Prabhu explains that what look like designs within five sections on the face of the coin are the letters which he could read as "Shree-Do-sha-ras-hi."
Prof. Padigar also points out that another significance of the coin is that it establishes that Kadambas used copper coins. This would also throw a significant light on the economy of the dynasty. Though some of the richer and earlier dynasties are known to have used gold and silver coins, there was no such coin that had been retained.
Source
On how he came across the coins, Mr. Prabhu explains that some workers had found them on a riverbank in Banavasi (near Sirsi in Uttara Kannada). These coins landed with a businessman in the city who is also a numismatist, <b>Mr. Prabhu explains. Experts and the Government should make efforts to discover "hidden treasure" near Banavasi, he suggests. His pleas in this regard had had not effect, he regrets.</b> His information is that along with coins, some rings and metals were also found on the riverbank.
<span style='color:red'>CPM-AMU nexus stymies History Congress</span>
By Our Correspondent
The dominance of a small AMU coterie led by Prof Irfan Habib and his presence at the dais on all the important functions and symposiums was indicative of the IHC having been hijacked by a small section of Left historians owing allegiance to the CPM and the CPI.
As usual more than one thousand historians, braving the extreme cold of Delhi, came from all over India to attend the 68th session of the Indian History Congress held on 28-30 December 2007 and hosted by the University of Delhi.
The IHC founded in 1935 and led by the most illustrious historians of the country such as Shafaat Ahmed, R.C. Majumdar, J.N. Sarkar, S.P. Sen, Tara Chand, A.L. Srivastava, K.S. Lal, P.V. Kane, A.S. Altekar, V.S. Agrawal etc. has earned the prestige of the largest academic forum for serious exchange of information and ideas between historians representing different shades of interpretations and areas of specialisation. On the contrary, this session presented a pathetic picture of a mismanaged, disorganised mela of non-serious participants. Majority of Delhi historians belonging to the JNU, Jamia Milia and even the Delhi University itself were conspicuous by their absence.
The dominance of a small AMU coterie led by Prof Irfan Habib and his presence at the dais on all the important functions and symposiums was indicative of the IHC having been hijacked by a small section of Left historians owing allegiance to the CPM and the CPI. The absence of all the Left historians led by Tanika Sarkar, Prof Sumit Sarkar and Neeladri Bhattacharya etc., who had raised their voice of protest against mass massacres at Singur and Nandigram as well as the whole subaltern group led by Prof Shahid Amin exposed the deep fissures in the camp of the Left historians. Regular visitors like Prof Barun Day and Prof Aniruddha Ray from Bengal chose not to attend this session. Could it be seen as a sign of protest against the dominance of Prof Irfan Habib, who happened to be only âeminentâ historian who, issued a joint statement with Prof. Prabhat Patnaik and his wife Utsa Patnaik in defence of the CPM on Nandigram butchery. Incidentally, it was Prof Habib who had led the protest against Mamata Banerjeeâs visit to the AMU. He has earned the image of an official historian of the CPM. It is because of Prof Habibâs dominance and control over the IHC that his pocket borough The Aligarh Historians Society was allowed to run a parallel show for two days in a symposium on Science and Technology exploiting the prestige, venue and resources of the IHC. Will the IHC allow other private forums of historians also to hold their symposia or seminars during its sessions in the same way? This partisan and discriminatory attitude was visible in the placement of the bookstalls of various publishers also. While the bookstalls of the Leftist publishers, such as Tulika, Three Essays, Left Word and Sahmat etc. all the four in some way or the other related to the CPM group of historians led by Prof Habib, and also the Rahul Foundation of Lucknow were allowed to put their stalls near the main Food Pandal, non-left big publishers like Routledge, Oxford, Low Price Publications etc. were accommodated in a different building, out of sight for most of the delegates.
The dominant position of Prof Habib and his coterie in the IHC became evident when in the General Body meeting in a Resolution condemning the cult of intolerance and violence, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan and recent anti-conversion riots in Orissa were mentioned, but Nandigram was deliberately left out.
This overt identification of the IHC with the defender of the Nandigram butchers perhaps led to the dissociation of the two UPA ministers, Arjun Singh, the HRD Minister and Smt. Sheela Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi to keep away from the inaugural function held on December 28, under the pretext that they had to attend an urgent CWC meeting, but according to some newspaper reports âSheela Dikshit had gone to attend the Congress Foundation Day at 10 a.m. and later she went to Vidhan Sabha.â Even the UGC Chairman S. Thorat was absent through out and the Delhi University VC. Prof Deepak Paintal did not take any interest in the IHC beyond his formal presence in the inaugural function.
Lack of management efficiency was glaring. To start with, copies of the precise daily programme, venues of the five sectional meetings as well as the side symposia were not provided to the delegates in their kits at the time of registration. The rooms allotted for paper reading were too small to accommodate all the participants in sectional meetings. The number of papers received for the Ancient, Medival, Archaeology and Countries outside India was very small. Only the Modern India section was flooded with papers and therefore had to be bifurcated into two adding to the chaos and confusion.
In the symposium on âForms of Resistance to Colonial Hegemonyâ held on December 29 evening in the Convocation Hall, two out of the three speakersâProf. Rajatkant Ray of Kolkata and Prof Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Chairman of ICHR publically regretted that they had come to know of the exact wordings of the theme just then. Only the third speaker, of course, Prof. Irfan Habib seemed to have prior information of the theme and therefore had come fully prepared. The political partisanship, which seems to have taken hold of the IHC, exhibited itself in this symposium also. Prof Rajat Kant Ray could not suppress his dismay over the BJP victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and ended his presentation with a public appeal to the delegates to defeat the BJP in the coming 2009 Lok Sabha elections. What a misuse of an academic forum to make an election speech for 2009!
The IHC seems to have gone astray from its original objective of providing a forum for serious discussions on research papers to be submitted by young and old researchers as well as to provide them the benefit of the guidance of senior scholars. Now the main highlights of the session are stolen by the parallel symposiums or memorial lectures etc, while the paper reading has been reduced to a casual side business, where senior scholars are almost absent and young research scholars are expected to rush in with their paper reading within 2 or 3 minutes, without any discussion thereon. Their only satisfaction lies in collecting a certificate of âpaper readingâ at the most prestigious forum which the IHC happens to be.
This session of the IHC was held when the country was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 1857 Revolt and also the birth centenary of Shahid Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev. In this session the nationalist school of historians made a frontal attack on the Leftâs hypocritical position on the 1857 Revolt by circulating a well researched book entitled âDid Moscow play fraud on Marx? The Mystery of Marx-Engels article on 1857â. This book of 112 pages, published by the Historian's Forum, Delhi; was written by Devendra Swarup and serialised in the Organiser weekly from June 10 to December 23, 2007. Priced at Rs. 50/- its copies were made available to IHC delegates at a special price of Rs. 40/- only. Its copies were personally presented to some top left historians. A leaflet giving the main arguments and contents of the book was widely distributed in the session. Media also took note of this book. The Asian Age (December 29) reported it under a seven column heading âRight Historians to challenge Leftists on 1857 warâ. It is to be seen whether the Leftists will break their seven months long silence and offer their explanations to the questions raised in the book about the credibility of their research methodology.
In short, the 68th session of the IHC, shadowed by the CPM-AMU nexus showed that its downward slide is fast but still, it continues to be largest annual congregation of historians from all over the country.
"Alexander the great" by Wally Badge which is a Syriac edition, with English translation, of the folk-lore and legends connected to Alexander the Great. This ancient text represents a Greek text that is much older than any text that has been known before. This text shows that alexander was actually defeated (though perhaps a later layering of the text confuses the issue).
a) Darius's call to help from Porus
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b) Porus's letter to Alexander and the reply and the ensuing fight
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