THE Indian History Congress met at Malda, West Bengal, for its three-day 76th annual session from December 27-29,  2015, under the aegis of the Gour-Banga University. About 1200 delegates from all over the country attended the session.

Professor K Paddayya, eminent archaeologist, took over as general president for the ensuing year, and delivered his presidential address at the inaugural session on December 27. Professor Paddayya is currently Professor Emeritus at the Deccan College University (Pune), the Mecca of Indian archaeologists, of which he has also been the director. Quoting a number of chauvinistic and communal statements from various quarters, Professor Paddayya in his address underlined the importance of a sober and rational assessment of our past, which is essential for our charting the correct path for the future. Quoting Jawaharlal Nehru, Professor Paddayya argued that not only do we have a multi-cultural past in India which is our heritage, but our heritage extends to what the entire humanity has achieved. He noted that Amartya Sen has rightly accorded “a high place to the past as one of the shared social values which people draw upon to their capabilities.” He called on historians, therefore, to take their calling most seriously to offer a correct picture of the past to our people, lest we should be seen “as modern-day Neros fiddling academic rhymes while the society around us is aflame.”

Immediately after the inaugural session, the Congress divided into six sections, whose meetings began with presentations of the sectional presidents’ address. Presiding over Section I (Ancient India), Professor Kunal Chakravarti (JNU) in his address traced the attitude towards Buddhism in Brahmanical texts, especially in Bengal. Professor Sanjay Subodh (Hyderabad), as President of Section II (Medieval India), devoted his address to the technology of building construction in medieval times. Professor Chandi Prasad Nanda (Cuttack), presiding over Section III (Modern India), presented the results of his research on the nature of preventive medicine pursued by the colonial government in Orissa. Professor Lipi Ghosh (Kolkata) devoted her address (Section IV: Countries other than India) to Thailand, both as victim of colonial aggrandisement and, then, one of the areas where the Indian National Army operated in Second World War. Professor Arun Kumar Nag (Santiniketan), president, Section V (Archaeology), gave a report on the archaeological sites in the ‘Varendra’ region in Bengal. Finally, Professor S Irfan Habib, presiding over Section VI (Contemporary India), recalled the major elements of Nehru’s scientific and cultural vision – a needful reminder of the rational heritage of our national movement. 

There are two events which the Indian History Congress organises on the evenings of the first and second day – the S C Misra Memorial Lecture and a special symposium. The lecture was read out on behalf of Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, who was prevented by illness from being present. He dealt with the theme of secularism as a basic element of our Constitution in the light of what was stated in the debates in the Constituent Assembly. The general theme set for the symposium was Dissent and Tradition in Indian History. Professor Kesavan Veluthat (Delhi) titled his presentation “From Dissent to Norm to Tradition – the Dialectics of Early Indian Religious History,” in which he selected a number of statements from Brahmanical texts, expressing scepticism and dissent. Professor Juan Cole (Michigan) took up the ways in which Persian poetry and Sufism, especially its Qalandari segments, became the vehicle for secular and heretical sentiments in Islam.

The main work of the History Congress lies in its sectional meetings. The printed lists of papers showed a total of 320 that were to be read. (In fact, the number actually presented was much larger). The distribution of these papers among sections shows that Ancient, Medieval and Contemporary (since 1947) periods drew about the same amount of interest (with respectively 44, 49 and 41 papers each). Modern India (1757-1947) drew the greatest number, 152, ie, nearly half of all papers submitted. The sections on Countries other than India and Archaeology, with 19 and 15 papers respectively, obviously need greater attention. It is an encouraging sign that in this session there were a considerable number of papers on the national movement and popular resistance in the Modern India section. A paper that excited much discussion was Professor Ramesh Rawat’s paper, ‘Politics of Hindi Nationality under Colonial Rule and After’, in which he strongly criticised the notion of a Hindi nationality.

The Aligarh Historians Society organised its annual panel that synchronises with the Indian History Congress session, on State and Religion in which as many as 24 scholars read papers. All papers presented at the panel were pre-circulated, which enabled full discussions to take place. Professor Prabhat Patnaik advanced an important hypothesis connecting the communalist policies of the current BJP regime with the political objectives of finance capital today. The Aligarh Historians Society also released Vol. 7 of the People’s History of India, titled Society and Culture in Post-Mauryan India, 200 BC-AD 300, by Professor Bhairabi Sahu and Kesavan Veluthat.

The Paschembanga Itihas Parishad circulated an important manifesto calling for the defence of History against communal bigotry.

The Indian History Congress, as usual, was able to publish the Proceedings of the previous session well in time for this session. The Proceedings have now assumed the form of an annual journal, containing over a hundred papers, selected after rigorous scrutiny. It is, therefore, all the more regrettable that, unlike previous sessions, copies of the volume could not properly be distributed, and almost half the eligible delegates could not obtain their copies. The sectional presidents’ addresses too were not properly distributed. These office-bearers of the organisation would be well advised to rectify the shortcomings.

Delegates were all praise for the arrangements of accommodation and meals made by the host university. Transport arrangements were also well organised, and the student volunteers were most helpful. Much gratitude is owed to Professor Gopal Chandra Misra, vice-chancellor of the Gour-Banga University and Dr Sanatan Das, local secretary, for the attention they paid to the delegates’ comfort and the smooth running of the History Congress.     

The general body of the delegates met in the afternoon of December 29. They passed three important resolutions, the texts of which are being published along with this report. The first called upon the UGC not to insist on a uniform History syllabus at universities throughout the country; the second called for strict protection and conservation of monuments; and the third raised alarm over the reported plan to forcibly  build a temple at the Babri Masjid site, Ayodhya.

Professor Shireen Moosvi (Aligarh) was elected general president for the next session. The sectional presidents elected for the next session are: Professor K K Thapaliyal (Ancient India), Professor S Z H Jafri (Medieval India), Professor Sucheta Mahajan (Modern India), Professor Swapna Bhattacharya (Countries other than India), Professor Ajit Prasad (Archaeology) and Professor A K Bagchi (Contemporary India).

The executive committee elected Professor Satish Chandra as vice-president, along with Professor B D Chattopadhya while re-electing Professor Ishrat Alam as secretary, Professor Ramesh Rawat as treasurer and Professor Amar Farooqui and Dr Vivekanand Shukla, joint secretaries. The following were elected to the executive committee unopposed: Professor Indu Banga (Chandigarh), Professor Rajsekhar Basu (JNU), Dr Rakesh Batabyal (JNU), Dr Apoorba Chakraborty (WB), Professor Irfan Habib (AMU), Professor S Z H Jafri (Delhi), Professor Bishambar Jha (Bihar), Professor G T Kulkarni (Pune), Professor Ruby Maloni (Mumbai), Professor Aditya Mukherji (JNU), Professor Sajal Nag (Assam), Dr Hitendra Patel (WB), Professor Surendra Rao (Karnataka), Professor Bhagabana Sahu (Odisha), Professor C P N Sinha (Bihar), Professor S Srinath (Telangana) and Dr J G Sudhakar (Chennai).

At this session the awards for a number of recently published books and papers were also announced. Dr Chhaya Goswami, Professor S A Nadeem Rezavi, Dr Joy L K Pachuau, and Dr Aniradha Roy and P K Basant received various prizes for their books, and Dr Rakesh Batabyal received the prize for the best paper submitted at the 74th session of the Indian History Congress. Prize winners for papers submitted at the 75th session included Meera Visvanthan, Pratya Nath, Ranjana Saha & Showkat Ahmad Naik, Preetee Sharma, Kanika Singh, Angbin Yasmin, Ardhendu Ray, Rachna Mehra, Narmarta R Genneri and Pranjali Srivastava.

RESOLUTIONS

Flexibility needed for

History Syllabi in Universities

The Indian History Congress is deeply concerned by the decision of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to introduce a uniform syllabus across universities in the country. Such a measure does not do justice to the differentiated nature of universities in different parts of the country. They adversely affect all of them by not allowing them to make use of their natural potential. Conceding a latitude of 20 to 30 percent will not address this problem.

The work of regulatory bodies such as UGC should normally be to monitor the implementation of minimum standards and the basic principles enshrined in the constitution. Creating a homogenous syllabus for the whole country goes beyond this mandate and will strike at the roots of the autonomy of universities. Imposing a syllabus necessarily created by those who are unaware of the ground realities of particular universities will be tantamount to downgrading universities to the level of primary schools, defeating the purpose of higher education and denying universities a chance to develop the resources available to each.

Protecting Monuments

The Indian History Congress has been constantly drawing the attention of the Archaeological Survey and other authorities towards the deteriorating condition of several monuments in the country, and their poor present state of preservation and lack of proper repair. At its 75th session (2014) at JNU, Delhi, it cautioned all concerned against the kind of restoration work by the Aga Khan Trust, which has gravely imperilled the status of Humayun's Tomb, a world-heritage site. There are reports in the press of a crematorium affecting the Taj Mahal, and a fly-over dominating Akbar's tomb, Sikandra. There are fears that Ajanta frescoes are getting affected by exposure to unclean air. It is accordingly necessary to develop and enforce a rigorous system of protection and preservation on the strict, established principles, so as to save our great national heritage.

No Permission to be given to utilise the illegal destruction of a Monument (Babri Masjid)

for political gains

                The Indian History Congress had strongly urged at its sessions from 1984 onwards that the Babri Masjid was entitled to protection both as a medieval monument, built in 1528, and as an important example of Sharqi architecture. However, it was allowed to be destroyed in 1992, an act which provoked national condemnation. That destruction was planned to enable the ground to be cleared to build a modern temple. Now the collection of stones at Ayodhya raises the suspicion of another breach of law. The Indian History Congress urges the central and state governments to ensure that religious sentiments are not incited to play with monuments and break the law with impunity.