The proceedings of the 81st session of the Indian History Congress held at Chennai from December 27th to 29th , 2022 – Panel discussion, resolutions passed etc., (3)

The proceedings of the 81^st session of the Indian History Congress held at Chennai from December 27^th to 29^th , 2022 – Panel discussion, resolutions passed etc., (3)

Medieval section – headed by Ishrat Alam……

Medieval section – headed by Ishrat Alam……audience RHS view

Medieval section – headed by Ishrat Alam……audience LHS view

Modern India section – headed by Salil Misra…………………….

Modern India section – headed by Salil Misra…………………….audience view

Countries other than India- Section…….

Countries other than India- Section…….headed by Margit Koves………

Similar titled paper appearing in the IHC proceeding………as coould be noted

Manas Dutta papers already published and appearing…………..

Manas Dutta papers already published and appearing…………..

Other discussions: On the second day [28-12-2022], the IHC Symposium on ‘The Evolution of Social Hierarchies in India’ was held with Shalini Shah, R P Bahuguna and Irfan Habib as the key speakers. Prof Habib participated through the online mode. He made observations regarding the caste system in medieval India. There were also special panels, such as ‘Framing the Syllabus for History Under the National Education Policy’ by Aligarh Historians Society, ‘Relooking Tamil History in Socio-Economic Lens: New Questions and Perspectives’ by G J Sudhakar and Arun Bandopadhyay[1], Sudhakar co-ordinated[2]; ‘The Elephant in the Classroom: Teaching Histories of Gender’ by the History Collective, and ‘Dalit History and Politics’ by Y Chinna Rao. The Department of History, MCC, organised two special panels, namely ‘Archaeology and Cultural Heritage of Tamil Nadu’ and ‘Discourse on Dravidian Studies.’ Actually, nothing was informed to the delegates about the last two panels. A booklet, “Panel on relooking Tamil history through Socio-Economic lens new questions and perspectives,” was given to some delegates containing “abstracts” of some papers.

The panel discussion and their result: This type of narratives have become routine and ritualized and they are carried on without caring the delegates. Here in the 81st session, they were held, perhaps, only to them, as the panellists may get some TA etc. The papers presented were not circulated, leave alone that the different panels were discussing with various issues, themes and topics. Most of the “paper presenters” have not spoken about anything new, except the verbose and opinionated views.

For example, in “Many meanings of an Agrarian Relation: Metamorphosis of Mirasidar – Paraiyan encounter in Tamilnadu over Nineteenth century” by Arun Bandhapadhyay, most of the details are already available in his own papers and book published during the last 30 years[3]. Now in 21st century, under the “Dravidian model” or “Dravidian discourse,” what he would opine is the question[4]. If these are read by the Dravidian historians, it has to be seen how they react.

Another paper by Manas Dutta, “Between performances and lived experiences: Exploring the role of Madras Army 1858-1918,” again his own papers already published of the same titles are available[5]. He has dealt with[6], “….the Paraiyans, one of the Dalit sub-caste of the Madras Presidency, and their transformation from a marginalized group to one which was believed to be one of the worthwhile recruits for the colonial army.” And his paper was also published in the early IHC session[7]. So why listeners should revisit these discourses, again and again, is not known. Moreover, they do not encourage or allow listening delegates to ask questions and avoid also.

Aligarh Historians elected in the IHC: Professor Shireen Moosvi (ex-faculty member, Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University) has been elected as the Vice President the Indian History Congress, the largest body of professional historians in India, while Professor Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, Professor Manvendra Kumar Pundhir, and Professor Syed Jabir Raza have been been elected as the Secretary, Joint Secretary, and Treasurer respectively[8]. Eminent historian Professor Irfan Habib and Professor Ishrat Alam have been elected as Members, the Executive Committee of the prominent body[9]. Incidentally Professor Alam was also the President of the Medieval India Section of the Indian History Congress this year. Notably the annual session of the Indian History Congress was held at Madras Christian College, Chennai between December 27-29, where these historians got elected for their respective positions during the Executive Committee and General Body meetings. During this 81st session of the Indian History Congress, a large contingent of 30 teachers and researchers from the Department of History, AMU participated and contributed research papers in its various sessions, symposiums and annual felicitation lectures. Can you say how many of your Universities elected in this way for IHC?

Resolutions passed by the IHC (details given by News click): The History Congress concluded its 81^st session with a general body meeting and approved as many as five resolutions. It elected Aditya Mukherjee (Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi) as president and Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi (Aligarh Muslim University) as secretary.

1. One of the resolutions raised concern about the official promotion of the ‘Indian Knowledge System’. It read that it was a worrying trend that the Arthaśāstra and Manusmriti are held as major achievements, although “both texts show a deep-rooted rejection of equality and an addiction to the caste system.”
2. Another resolution noted that the implementation of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) through the National Testing Agency (NTA) “marks a significant step backwards” for History, a discipline “where the emphasis has been on methodologies, source-based analysis and interpretive frameworks.”
3. On University Grants Commission’s draft syllabi for History in higher education, the Congress resolved that the omission of any mention of the caste system, the removal of the Mughal emperor Akbar in Medieval History and other such developments were grossly “unacademic” features.
4. With special reference to mosques in Varanasi and Mathura, the IHC held that “structures of any architectural significance that are over 200 years old should be duly protected as ‘monuments’ by the Archaeological Survey of India.”
5. A resolution was also passed on the COVID-19 pandemic, which observed the failure of the state policy and the lack of state support during the state-imposed lockdown.

Again, there is no “Grover type” well-informed historians are not there and they can go on passing such resolutions, where they do not have any locus standi.

2019 to 2022 and onwards: On the third day, 29-12-2022, many delegates started moving away from the campus. Moreover, they knew that the session was winding up by the afternoon with business session and valedictory function. The Tamil Nadu government allotted Rs 35 lakh towards the Indian History Congress[10]. Notably, in 2015 the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) stripped the IHC of its special funding. This large event was hosted by the Department of History, MCC. with R Venkataramanujam as the local secretary of the 81st Session of the IHC[11]. The IHC was held in Tamil Nadu after 26 years. It was previously held in the Madras University campus in Chennai in 1996. The previous 80th annual IHC meeting was held in Kannur in 2019 when Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan had to face demonstration, sloganeering and of course the aggressive behaviour of Irfan Habib. The Indian History Congress was founded in 1935; it is considered the country’s oldest professional body of historians. At present, it has more than 1,500 members.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

30-12-2022

MCC organizers appreciating the students for their excellent work…………………………….

We can understand from their eyes, joy and happiness…………………………..

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[1] The Hindu, Indian History Congress session concludes, THE HINDU BUREAU

December 30, 2022 06:47 pm | Updated 06:47 pm IST – CHENNAI

[2] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/indian-history-congress-session-concludes/article66318104.ece

[3] Bandhpadhyay, Arun, 1992. “The Agrarian Economy of Tamil Nadu 1820-1855”, K.P. Bagchi & Co., Calcutta.

[4] Bandopadhyay, Arun. “Agrarian Change and Social Mobility in Colonial Conditions: The Mirasi Question in Nineteenth Century Tamil Nadu.” Indian Historical Review 36.2 (2009): 237-256.

[5] “Revisiting the Role of the Paraiyans in the Madras Presidency Army, c. 1801-1894”, The Inclusive,Vol. 1, Issue 2, 2012

[6] “Understanding the Social Complexities in the Madras Army, 1807-1858” paper presented at the Indian History Congress at Gour Bangha University, Feb 2011 and published in the Proceedings of IHC in the Modern India Section. ISSN: 2249-1937.

The article deals with the Paraiyans, one of the Dalit sub-caste of the Madras Presidency, and their transformation from a marginalized group to one which was believed to be one of the worthwhile recruits for the colonial army. The narrative delves on their exalted status as a military subaltern within the general set up of the army department and also traces their subsequent socio-political positions in the southern society under the colonial rule after the 1880s. Despite their primary dependence on agriculture for their survival, several of them preferred to be enlisted in the army under the colonial rule in India for better livelihood and social standing. The official/archival documents highlighted that the Madras Presidency army had given much benefit to them and became a source of their social occupational mobility. Thus, It has been given them a new sense of identity and power and their empowerment as a caste. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2455328X221094391

[7] IHC, February 2011.

[8] Aligarh Muslim University, ALIGARH HISTORIANS ELECTED IN THE INDIAN HISTORY CONGRESS, Aligarh, December 29, 2022 | Public Relation Office.

[9] https://amu.ac.in/news/2022/12/29/aligarh-historians-elected-in-the-indian-history-congress

[10] News Click, Stalin Opens Indian History Congress, Says ‘False History Should be Sidelined’, Sruti MD | 30 Dec 2022.

[11] https://www.newsclick.in/stalin-open-indian-history-congress-false-history-sidelined