Suppress ego to write biography: Ramachandra Guha

Guha said history oscillates between social sciences and literature

GN Bureau | February 24, 2017


#history   #biography   #Ramchandra Guha   #India news  


Noted historian Ramachandra Guha has listed reasons on why historical biographies never took off in a big way in India.

Delivering the annual lecture at Sahitya Akademi’s Festival of Letters in New Delhi on Thursday, Guha said that historical biography is that part of history which is more allied to literature than any other parts of history. “History oscillates between social sciences and literature,” he said. 
 
Here are his reasons on why Indian historians refrain from writing biographies.
 
•    The burden of religious inheritance. Religions such as Hinduism are inimical to writing a biography due to its inherent belief system based on karma and rebirth. 
 
•    Scholarly inheritance, especially Marxism since Marxism diminishes the importance of the individual. 
 
•    History’s tilt towards social sciences, though history began as a branch of literature. 
 
•    Indians’ indifference to record keeping. The archives in the country, central and state, are in complete disarray. 
 
•    Indians are diffident on writing biographies for the fear of offending eminent individual. 
 
•    Biography is a challenging literary form. 
 
•    Writing of biography requires writers and scholars to suppress their own egos and write about another writer with an equally big ego. 
 
Guha explained how anthropologist Verrier Elwin’s life and works transformed him and his critical outlook. He illustrated the challenges of writing a biography through his attempts to write a biography of Verrier Elwin. He observed that while historical biography is an underdeveloped field and challenging, young scholars should tell their stories since historical biography in India is on the rise and in the coming years we are likely to see more number of historical biographies.
 

Comments

 

Other News

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

A new retelling of the Mahabharata delves into key moments

In a time when every decision carries consequences and questions of ambition, power, loyalty, identity and moral choice continue to shape our lives, Dr. Arun Krishnan’s new book, ‘Mahakshana’ (Penguin India) offers a strikingly relevant retelling of the Mahabharata.  

Cabinet approves viability gap funding to develop grid-scale energy storage systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Development of Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems, with a total financial support of Rs.14,500 crore for the period FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. The scheme aims to support the development o

Cabinet creates a pathway to absorb Agniveers in Defence Forces

An objective assessment in terms of organisational requirements and operational efficiency has brought out the outstanding performance of Agniveers in terms of skills, motivation levels, physical fitness and technological prowess. As envisaged earlier, based on merit, 25% of Agniveers will be offered reg

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter