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

How to leverage AI to solve urgent global issues

The world seems to be hurling towards World War III in all the possible scenarios: hot war, cold war, and proxy war. The battleground seems to have expanded beyond physical to digital or virtual/mixed reality with technology like drones. Moreover, the line between civilian and military targets seems to hav

Budget: Progress towards SDGs and areas for improvement

The Union Budget 2025-26 outlines India`s vision for economic and social growth while also reflecting the country`s commitment to sustainable development. As India moves closer to the 2030 deadline for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this budget presents a balanced approach

Repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 6.25%

The Reserve Bank of India has, for the first time in five years, reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.25% with immediate effect. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate will stand adjusted to 6.00% and the marginal

Amitav Ghosh’s new work: Connections between the word and the world

Wild Fictions: Essays By Amitav Ghosh HarperCollins, 496 pages, Rs 799.00 Amitav Ghosh, one of a handful of Ind

How markets can help (and also hinder) fight against pollution

In the annals of environmental policy, few ideas have been as transformative as the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Born from the minds of economists in the late 1960s, this market-based approach to pollution control has evolved from a theoretical concept to a global tool in the fight against climate chang

Will Bihar complement the resolution of Viksit Bharat 2047?

As India completes its diamond jubilee as a republic, I am reminded of a statement by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, delivered during an address to the Bihar Chamber of Commerce in Patna on March 28, 2006. He said, “I have visited Bihar numerous times, and it has always been a source of happiness for me to

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