Sharma condemns Latkar on Ram Birthplace issue

read this for more on coomunalism http://books.google.com/books?id=WYtKhu6rktAC&pg=PA231&lpg=PA231&dq=communalism+in+indian+context&source=bl&ots=pnrIUFxzrv&sig=exbbZfzB7KLF324tO0pC6n5FOLc&hl=en&ei=ZGatSdqUJpTq6QOczInfBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA237,M1

for more on communlism readhttp://www.indowindow.com/sad/article.php?child=16&article=8

Excerpts from the interview by Romila Thapar

In a sense, Indigenism is the other side of the coin of globalisation. In terms of its application to history, it attempts to invent a "tradition" and retain it as something essentially different from other cultures and societies, and to build an ideology on such a tradition. But it fails to provide a theory of historical explanation or a method of historical analysis. It frequently incorporates 19th century colonial historiography as part of its ideology, as for example, in retaining the Hindu, Muslim and British periodisation together with the colonial evaluation of the first two, and using this to try and negate the significance of the second period. Another example is the insistence on the Aryan roots of Indian civilisation, to such a degree that some are now arguing, in complete opposition to the evidence, that the Harappans were Vedic Aryans! This stems from a 19th century concern in Europe for Aryan origins, and its utilisation in explaining the beginnings of Indian history. This was essentially a political agenda as has also been the appropriation of the theory by Hindutva ideologues. There is a clinging in such circles, to the Aryan as a source of Indian identity. Indigenism takes the form of arguing that the Aryans were indigenous to India and spread from here to Europe, so that India can be regarded as the cradle of European civilisation as well.

Because Indigenism is not a theory of historical explanation, it is used as and when required and quite arbitrarily to insist on history giving support to the premises of Hindutva ideology. A case in point was the debate over the Babri Masjid. The pretence at historicity was a new aspect of Hindutva ideology and was used to gull the public. It therefore required to be challenged by historians.

Indigenism of this sort is intellectually and historiographically barren with no nuances or subtleties of thought and interpretation. It hammers away at a certain point of view which acts as a casual explanation for every historical event irrespective of whether it is relevant or not - characteristic of the use of history by totalitarian ideologies.

Could you assess the classroom status of ancient Indian history? How is history being taught in schools - how far are the results of modern research being reflected in textbooks; have the distortions you have been discussing also crept into them?

Barring a few exceptions, early Indian history is still generally taught in many schools as it was half-a-century ago. Out-of-date textbooks, sometimes factually incorrect, written in a dull and plodding fashion, are used to smother students with boring information, chunks of which they are made to learn by heart and reproduce in examinations. There is little attempt to convey the idea that history is a process of gaining an understanding of the past and not a body of information to be memorised. No attempt is made to integrate the different activities that went into the making of the past, or to explain why there are differences in various parts of the country and how they came about. Even the differences in the nature of the societies of early times and of now are not discussed. The continuity between periods of time and the transmutation of ideas and institutions are absent. Distortions are sometimes not even noticed, leave alone being corrected. The results of modern research are not reflected because those authors of history textbooks who are not historians seldom consult historians or their work. The writing and prescribing of textbooks used to be a cottage industry; it has now become a factory system. One has therefore to ask where the profits go before the mess can be cleaned up.

School teachers are frequently blamed for being badly trained, but the training is not of their choosing. My own experience in workshops involving school teachers is that they are eager to be up to date and to teach history as it should be taught, but are discouraged by the syllabus, often unintelligently formulated, and an examination system in which learning by rote and using bazaar notes is at a premium.

There isn't nearly enough attention given to setting right the way in which school education functions, even though it is recognised that this is the bedrock of each generation.

Thank you for the post on this.