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History Congress deplores removal of ICHR Chairman

By Parvathi Menon

MYSORE DEC. 30. The annual gathering of the largest learned society of professional historians in South Asia — the Indian History Congress — today concluded its best-attended session ever in Mysore. The 64th session of the Indian History Congress, in which over 1,200 delegates from institutions of higher learning — from small colleges to major research institutions — all over the country participated in three days of discussion, debate and professional interaction.

The Congress passed three major resolutions. The first deplored the removal — "in contravention of the rules of the ICHR" — of M.G.S Narayanan, former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). The second expressed the alarm of the Congress at "reports, backed by photographs, of the damage done by negligence or design to the priceless legacy of the Red Fort, Delhi." The participants at the Congress were clear that, in such cases, criteria of strict conservation and preservation on historical principles should take precedence over the needs of tourism and other non-historical imperatives. The third resolution called for the protection of historical monuments that are being converted to modern uses.

Ramkrishna Chatterjee, Secretary of the Congress, told The Hindu that the "significance of this session of the History Congress is that it has seen the largest number of papers, 640 in all, presented at any Congress thus far." Young scholars, he said, presented most of these papers. The 64th session was also the occasion for three panel discussions. These discussions were attended by academics in the natural and applied sciences, economists and historians. The Congress also held what was characterised as a "very important interactive session" on history in school education, and the changes that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has made in school textbooks.

The titles of the panel discussions were `The History of Information and Communication Technology in India,' `Religion and Material Culture in Indian History' and `History in School Education'. The last-mentioned panel discussion was inaugurated by the Karnataka Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, B.K. Chandrashekhar.

Mr. Chandrashekhar expressed his concern at the "serious threat" under which history has come in the last 10 to 15 years. "Historians have reason to be deeply concerned at the violation that we are witnessing of constitutional principles and multi-cultural values of peace and unity."

Mr. Chandrashekhar referred to the efforts made by his government to revise the content of history textbooks in Karnataka. The members of the panel on school textbooks were Professors Irfan Habib, S. Settar, Arjun Dev, Suvira Jaiswal, Aditya Mukherjee, and Aniruddha Ray. The presentations were followed by a lively discussion, one marked by the presence and active participation of school teachers.

The General President of the 64th Congress, Prof. S. Settar, presented a paper titled `Footprints of Artisans in History.' The S.C. Mishra Memorial lecture was delivered by Prof. J.S. Grewal. The title of the paper presented by Professor Utsa Patnaik of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University was `Stormy Passage: The Economic Basis of the Rise of Communal-Fascist Forces in India.'

A highlight of the proceedings of the conference today was a lecture by Prof. Irfan Habib, organised by the Urban History Association of India. The lecture, titled `The Town in Indian History,' attracted much discussion among the participants.

Our Mysore Staff Correspondent writes:

A resolution approved by the executive committee and passed at a business meeting of the Congress expressed concern over the maintenance of excavated sites at Vikramashila and Bodh Gaya in Bihar. It said that the remains of Vikramshila Mahavihara present a picture of ``callous neglect and unscientific preservation'', while the Bodh Gaya site is ``suffering from excessive religious interference.'' The terracotta panels at Vikramashila are lost and there is a threat to the structures at the site itself.

On Bodh Gaya, the resolution said earlier sculptures had been replaced by gaudy sculptures and stone pavements depicting the Jataka scenes had been effaced by a new marble pavement.

In view of the significance of the sites, the ``Congress appeals to the Archaeological Survey of India to take proper steps to conserve the historical value of the sites by saving it from natural decay.''

Prof. Savyasachi Bhattacharya was elected president of the 65th session of the Indian History Congress.

Prof. Satish Chandra and Prof. Dwijendra Tripati were elected vice-presidents and Prof. Vijay Thakur was elected secretary.

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