Our History, Their History, Whose History?

The India International Centre (IIC) will host a talk today at the D Deshmukh Auditorium at 6:30 pm. Titled ‘Our History, Their History, Whose History?’, the talk will examine the current crisis in the teaching and writing of history as reflected in the new syllabus for schools, colleges and universities and public statements on the past.

There is a bifurcation between popular public views and those of professional historians. The questions to be answered are: how did this come about? How legitimate are the changes being formally suggested? And why are these changes being contested by historians?

The focus will be on one frequently quoted interpretation relating to the second millennium AD, discussing the relationship between two communities.

Professor Romila Thapar, a pre-eminent historian and Professor Emerita of Jawaharlal Nehru University, will be the speaker at the talk, which will be chaired by Shyam Saran, President of the IIC.