Fwd: PM's daughter takes on Marxist view of history

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/PMs_daughter_takes_on_Marxist_view_of\

_history/articleshow/3143298.cms

 

PM's daughter takes on Marxist view of history

19 Jun 2008, 0128 hrs IST, Mohua Chatterjee,TNN

 

NEW DELHI: Just when PM Manmohan Singh has taken on his communist

partners over the nuclear deal, his daughter, professor Upinder Singh,

has come up with a book which challenges the Marxist version of ancient

Indian history

<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/PMs_daughter_takes_on_Marxist_view_o\

f_history/articleshow/3143298.cms#> .

 

While praising Marxist historians for uncovering the history of

non-elite groups and other contributions, Singh disagrees with them for

their reliance on unilinear historical models derived from western

historical and anthropological works.

 

She also delves extensively into ancient India's cultural past —

art, literature, religion and philosophy — in sharp contrast to

Marxist historians who focused on " social and economic interpretations " .

 

Singh, however, is not one to discard the Marxist approach altogether.

" Being a student

<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/PMs_daughter_takes_on_Marxist_view_o\

f_history/articleshow/3143298.cms#> of history in the 1970s, I am a

product of the shift from the nationalist to the Marxist view and so I

have drawn from both, " the DU historian told TOI, identifying herself as

" belonging to the liberal space which is so important " .

 

Singh's 704-page A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From

the Stone Age to the 12th Century is targeted at graduate

<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/PMs_daughter_takes_on_Marxist_view_o\

f_history/articleshow/3143298.cms#> and post-graduate students and will

be released on July 18.

 

With her keen interest in archaeology, Singh seeks to challenge Marxist

historians like Romila Thapar, and provides, for those " writing

<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/PMs_daughter_takes_on_Marxist_view_o\

f_history/articleshow/3143298.cms#> the new NCERT school books, " more

than one interpretation of ancient Indian history, and encouraging them

to look for more.

 

Elaborating on her divergences with the Marxist school

<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/PMs_daughter_takes_on_Marxist_view_o\

f_history/articleshow/3143298.cms#> which have dominated the campuses

since the 70s, Singh stressed the need for students of ancient Indian

history to pay attention also to cultural aspects — art, literature

religion and philosophy. " Religious doctrines, I feel, are important for

students to understand things in context, " she said.

 

In the introductory chapter, Singh discusses the contributions and flaws

of the various schools. " Marxist historiography also contributed towards

uncovering the history of non-elite groups, many of whom had suffered

centuries of subordination and marginalization. While making these

valuable contributions, Marxist writing often tended to work with

unilinear historical models derived from western historical and

anthropological writings, " she writes.

 

Sketching out her differences with the Marxist school, Singh notes that

shift of population from rural to urban areas did not take place as

suggested in the model as " most people of the subcontinent continued to

live in villages " .

 

Asked about likely controversies after the book's release, she said,

" Given that a controversy came up about a book that did not exist, I

must say it can really vitiate the atmosphere. History always has a

political element, it is always connected with power and power

structures, with strong views on it even among ordinary people. But

ultimately the book will be judged in the long run by students of

history. "

 

Explaining the purpose in the preface, she said, " It is necessary to

expose them to the complex details and textures of history... unresolved

issues... have been presented as such, rather than conveying a false

sense of certainty. Where there are debates, the different perspectives

have been presented, along with my own assessment of which arguments are

convincing and which ones are not. "

 

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