A veritable seminar on history – past and present – with Romila Thapar

Republication of veteran historian’s contributions to ‘Seminar’ in book form is a cause for celebration

GN Bureau | June 24, 2023


#education   #culture   #history   #Romila Thapar   #politics  
(GN Photo)
(GN Photo)

The Future in the Past: Essays and Reflections
By Romila Thapar
Aleph, 336 pages, Rs 999
 
Romila Thapar, now in her nineties, is our pre-eminent historian and public intellectual. When she was a young student, and Indian democracy too was young, her brother, Romesh Thapar, and his wife, Raj, launched a monthly journal of ideas, ‘Seminar’. Over the decades, as it emerged as India’s most respected journal for public debate on a large range of issues, she has remained a regular contributor. Now Aleph has collected all her “essays and reflections”, first published in ‘Seminar’, in a book.

‘The Future in the Past’ brings together essays by Romila Thapar on issues and ideas that have preoccupied her throughout her career. These are subjects that surfaced frequently in discussions over the last six decades as they do even more so at present. Among them are the use and misuse of history, the myths surrounding the coming of the Aryans, religious fundamentalism in the study of society, the overt and the insidious attempts by right-wing elements to pervert Indian culture, variants of the Ramayana, the importance of museums, why dissent is important to democracy, the role of the public intellectual, and much more. Central to the arguments in these essays is an analysis of how the past permeates the present and influences the future.

While much of her writing is accessible to non-specialist readers, essays in this collection are especially meant for a wider readership and wider themes – under six sections: history, contemporary times, epics, renunciation and dissent, museums and education.

For those of us who have not read her authoritative academic works, such as ‘From Lineage to State’, ‘Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas’, ‘Early India: From Origins to AD 1300’, and ‘History of India: Part I’, this collection provides an ideal introduction. Since many of the themes – about Indians’ historical identity, for example – have become all the more relevant in contemporary politics, several essays in this collection make essential reading for our times.

As Thapar notes in the preface, “Reading the articles that I wrote over the last fifty years, I am struck by how topical the issues remain. Have we therefore stood still, or have we only inched forward, or am I missing the wood for the trees? These topics are significant in today’s India as some are still hovering over us, some remind us that we have not achieved what we set out to seventy-five years ago, and some show us the changes, although we may not recognize them—or for that matter where they are unpalatable, we may try not to recognize them.”

Comments

 

Other News

Vibrant Gujarat not just about branding, also an event of bonding: Modi

Prime minister Narendra Modi addressed the programme marking 20 years celebration of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at Science City in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was started 20 years ago, on September 28, 2003, under the leadership of Modi, then chief minis

AI in education: How to embrace the change (and why)

It is often said that industry is at 4.0 and education is at 2.0. To transform education in line with artificial intelligence (AI), it is imperative to adopt what companies like Google are doing. We must learn to grow along with AI as AI is going to grow. There is a need to evolve the mindsets of educators

Diamonds are Forever: A Saturday story

Saturday Stories By Rashmi Bansal HarperCollins, 176 pages, Rs 250 From the bestselling author of ‘Stay Hu

Oracle Adds AI Capabilities to Oracle Analytics Cloud

Oracle has showcased new AI-powered capabilities within Oracle Analytics Cloud. Leveraging the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Generative AI service, the new capabilities assist analytics self-service users to more quickly and efficiently conduct sophisticated analysis and make better business decisions

Domestic airlines show 38.27% growth in passenger numbers

The domestic aviation industry has witnessed a remarkable surge in passenger traffic during the first eight months of 2023. According to the latest data analysis, the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines from January to August 2023 reached an impressive 1190.62 lakhs, marking a substantial inc

MPs bid adieu to historic parliament building, step into new building

A function was organised in the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday to commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India as the Members came together to bid adieu to the historical building before stepping into the New Building of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha sp

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter