People's Democracy

THE Indian History Congress held its 62nd annual session at Bhopal on December 2001 28-30, at a time when the announcement of the decision of the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) to delete a number of passages from history text books had caused consternation among both historians and the general public. Much media attention was, therefore, directed at the Indian History Congress session.

In terms of academic achievement, the session was a notable success. Over 800 delegates attended and over 400 papers were presented in the various sections. There were special panels on Science in Indian History, the History of Forestry and Tribes, and India and Iran, The Historical Relationship, all of which had distinguished participants.

The president of India, Shri K R Narayanan, sent a message to the Indian History Congress, which we are reprinting separately because of its relevance. Characteristically, the message was criticised by the BJP.

The inaugural session on December 28 was addressed by the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijay Singh, and Dr Karan Singh, both of whom agreed that History should be left to historians. The eminent epigraphist, Iravatham Mahadevan, in his address as general president, criticised the attempt made by Navratan Rajaram and others to read the Indus script in such a manner as to make it "Aryan."

On December 30 the general body passed four resolutions on matters relating to History. In a resolution passed by an overwhelming majority (only 5 out of some 300 delegates voting against), entitled "CBSE’s Deletions from History Textbooks," the Indian History Congress deplored in strong terms the unprecedented deletions and statements emanating from Murli Manohar Joshi, the HRD minister and his cohorts.

The other resolutions opposed the continuing ban by ICHR on the Towards Freedom volumes, restrictions on history teaching in Andhra Pradesh, and the abolition of the Kerala Council of Historical Research.

The delegates elected a new executive committee of sixteen members. The RSS-sponsored panel of nine candidates was routed.

Professor Dwijendra Tripathi (Ahmedabad), the well-known historian of business history, was elected general president for the next session. The section presidents elected are Professor A U Arora (Ancient India), Professor S P Verma (Medieval India), Professor Mariam Dossal (Modern India), Professor Arjun Dev (Countries other than India), and Professor Sonani (Archaeology). Professors Ramakrishna Chatterji and Arun Bandopadhyaya were re-elected secretary and treasurer. Professors Rajan Gurukkul and Thakeran were elected joint secretaries.