Chair: Dr. Anandi Mehmood, Department of Humanities, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Discussant: Mr. Sarfraz Khan, Area Study Center, University of Peshawar, Pakistan
Panel Organizer: Mr. Ahmad Salim, Project Consultant, SDPI
Dr. Visalakshi Menon, Reader, Department of History, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, India, presented her paper on “History Writing in India”. She shared the strong and vibrant tradition of history writing of India, which began even before independence. According to her, many of the historians of 1960s, even while engaged in teaching and research, devoted a part of their time in writing history textbooks for children. The endeavor was not just to update historical knowledge, but also to place the discipline of history on strong, secular foundations. This was done because it was felt that much of the communal hatred which erupted from time to time in the form of riots, emanated from the communalized approach in history textbooks.
Critically analyzing the new Indian history textbooks being produced by the NCERT under the guidance of Prof. Krishna Kumar, she said that while these books have been prepared by some of the most outstanding historians in India, are visually attractive and try to present history in interesting new ways, the thematic approach being adopted is flawed as with such an approach the interconnectedness of history is lost. After all, events do not stand in isolation, they have to be seen as part of a larger process, she said. History is constantly in the process of being rewritten and reexamined. What is of interest and concern is the manner in which it is being rewritten and the reasons for which a reexamination is considered necessary. One also needs to carefully look for the agenda that could possibly lie beneath these exercises. She stressed the need to question why when a new set of history textbooks is commissioned; it is mandatory to wipe out all memories of the ones that preceded it. She recommended that uncomfortable facts of history should be faced rather than concealed. Today there is a need to re-examine the stereotype about the so-called ‘Muslim period’ or even the earlier glorified ‘Hindu period’ and to shift the focus of historical enquiry away from the religious and the purely political to the socio-economic.
Dr. Aneela Z. Babar, Endeavour Research Fellow from the Monash University, Australia, further explored how the literature on partition histories of South Asia has been a ‘narration of loss’ through the perspective of communities living in Pakistan (Punjab) and Northern India. In her paper titled “Pashtuns Reading Ghandi: Non-violent Political Islam, Collective Action and Contesting Identities amongst Pashtun Communities”, she highlighted the role of ‘Khudai Khitmatgar social movement’, a non-violent movement on inter-faith harmony raised in 1947 to curb any religious violence during the turbulent period of June-September 1947. She pointed out that contrary to what happened with accounts of communities influenced by the events of Partition elsewhere in South Asia, the stories from Pashtun communities remained undocumented. In addition, the Khitmatgar’s discourse and philosophy remains unacknowledged in any academic research or political documents regarding Pashtun communities.
Keeping in continuation, Dr. Nathalène Reynolds, Research Associate, Center for Asian Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, presented her paper on “Indo-Pak Antagonism: The Impact of the Enigma of Indian Kashmir”. According to her, few have taken the trouble to examine the resurgence of a nationalism that had already tried to express itself during the partition of the sub-continent in the Indian Jammu and Kashmir. But by tacit agreement, India and Pakistan chose to qualify it as regional particularism. It was at that time that Kashmir rejected its vision of the history of the sub-continent, a vision that was intertwined with the dominant Indian reading. Kashmir adopted a version that was somehow tailor-made for it by Pakistan, whose objective was to encourage the Muslims of Indian Jammu and Kashmir to claim their adhesion to the Islamic Republic. She stressed that the process of rewriting history should be initiated so that ideals such as non-violence or secularism were denounced. Moreover the concept of Kashmiryat should be kept in mind while writing history.
Dr. Anandi Mehmood from the University of Central Lancashire, UK, chaired the panel while Mr. Sarfraz Khan from the Area Study Center, University of Peshawar, Pakistan, was the discussant.
Reported by Humaira Saleem
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