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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Unearthing India’s Forgotten Histories

From restoring ancient temples to rewriting historical narratives, this year’s Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award celebrated the need for a wider understanding of India’s past. Pune: History is not merely a record of vanished centuries but a map to understanding the present. That was the central message at the fifth edition of the ‘Late Shri Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award’, where archaeologist K.K. Muhammed and historian-author Aniruddh Kanisetti were honoured for their...

Unearthing India’s Forgotten Histories

From restoring ancient temples to rewriting historical narratives, this year’s Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award celebrated the need for a wider understanding of India’s past. Pune: History is not merely a record of vanished centuries but a map to understanding the present. That was the central message at the fifth edition of the ‘Late Shri Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award’, where archaeologist K.K. Muhammed and historian-author Aniruddh Kanisetti were honoured for their contributions to preserving and expanding the understanding of India’s past. The awards, instituted by the Quantum Foundation, were presented at the convocation hall of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Yerwada. The main award was presented to K.K. Muhammed, former Regional Director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and a leading figure in Indian archaeology, by renowned archaeologist Padmashri Dr. K. Paddayya and Quantum Foundation Chief Trustee Pushpa Surana. Changing Contours The ceremony also recognised the changing contours of historical scholarship by conferring the ‘Digital Historian Award’ on Aniruddh Kanisetti, author, storyteller and recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. In addition, the foundation launched the Quantum Scholarship to support young researchers pursuing higher studies in history and archaeology. The first scholarship was awarded to Pune-based researcher Sujay Khalate for his Ph.D. work in ’Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology.’ The initiative reflects a growing recognition that historical research requires not only academic commitment but also institutional support. In his introductory address, Quantum Foundation representative Dr. Pratik Surana emphasised that understanding history was essential for making sense of contemporary society. “Everything around us has a history. To gain new knowledge and correctly understand the present, it is necessary to know the past,” he said. The award ceremony was attended by Prasad Joshi, Vice Chancellor of Deccan College, Prof. Sonal Kulkarni, Dean of Deccan College, and Shahida Ansari, Head of the Archaeology Department. For Muhammed, the honour was a recognition of a lifetime spent bridging the gap between archaeological discovery and heritage conservation. Speaking after receiving the award, he recalled his work in restoring the ancient Bateshwar temple complex in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, a project widely regarded as a landmark in heritage restoration. He said he had now undertaken the restoration of select ancient temples in Hampi, Karnataka. Yet, he cautioned that India’s celebration of its heritage often exceeds its efforts at preservation. While archaeology and ancient monuments occupy a prominent place in public discourse, the actual execution of conservation projects remains inadequate, he said. According to Muhammed, thousands of historic structures across the country could be revived if stronger governmental initiatives and sustained conservation efforts were undertaken. The challenge, he suggested, was not the absence of heritage but the absence of a systematic approach to protect it. Kanisetti, meanwhile, used the occasion to highlight another challenge confronting Indian historiography — the dominance of a largely North-centric narrative. “The history we learn has remained largely North-centric. South India produced great empires that not only contributed immensely to India but also expanded their influence into Southeast Asia. These histories are rarely discussed,” he said. He argued that a fuller understanding of India’s past required moving beyond familiar political narratives and exploring the diverse regional traditions, kingdoms and cultural exchanges that shaped the subcontinent. The award ceremony thus became more than a recognition of individual achievements. It was a reminder that history is a constantly evolving field — one that depends as much on excavating forgotten monuments as on questioning established narratives. As India debates its identity in the present, the search for a more complete understanding of its past has become an increasingly important intellectual pursuit.

Students who engineered the change feel defeated

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Out of 158 coordinators 40 have quit; others looking way around

Students

Kolkata: The platform, which led the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement in Bangladesh, culminating to a regime change and end of the 15-year-old powerful Sheikh Hasina government is on its way out. At least so it appears, given the propensity among student leaders to resign from the post of coordinators.


Out of 158 student coordinators about 40 have already put in their papers. The number is increasing every day, which in a way vindicates that students no longer feel in tune with what is happening in Bangladesh.


Though the coordinators have not officially cited the reason for exit, they made no bones to say that their job has gone redundant, post the formation of the interim government. Asked to explain as to why the feeling of redundancy has crept in, a student leader of Jagannath Vishwavidyalaya (Jagannath University) said “coordinators are no longer needed because the job of coordination is over.”


Prodded further on this, he admitted that a majoritarian voice is calling the shots in the current dispensation. “Those who are numerically strong, be it politically or in terms of community, are playing a decisive role in the current state of affairs. We are closely watching the situation. Nobody should forget that students brought down a powerful autocratic government and therefore weeding out radical fundamentalists from the system wouldn’t be a difficult job,” said the same leader on condition of anonymity


The caretaker Cabinet of Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus has 20 advisers and six special positions under the Chief Adviser. The team is a motley group but indirect presence or influence of right wing party like Hefazat-e-Islam and radicals like Jamaat-e-Islam cannot be ruled out. Two frontrunners of the student’s movement, Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud have found their place in the cabinet. “The faces we see in the Cabinet apparently may be harmless but no one knows who they represent or hold allegiance to,” said a source. And above everything else, what is worrisome is the sudden emergence of the banned outfit—Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pan Islamist rganization, outlawed by the Bangladesh government in under Anti-Terrorism Act.

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