By IANS
New Delhi : The three-day 68th annual session of the Indian History Congress, the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians, began here Friday with around 1,000 delegates participating to deliberate on various aspects of history and archaeology in the Indian context.
However, the meet saw prominent historians steering away from controversial subjects like the Ram Setu and the “historicity” of Lord Ram.
Professor R. S. Sharma, remarking on the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said: “There is no border for terrorism, so we should be cautious of this situation. I think terrorists have shown what they are capable of and up to what extent they can be a threat to democracy.”
Renowned historian Irfan Habib said: “It is difficult to say how Pakistan will come out this situation. It is a real testing time for that nation.” He said it would not be correct to comment on what effect the assassination would have on Pakistan and South Asia.
N.K Chaturvedi, professor at Jodhpur University, said: “The attack is surely going to strengthen the roots of terrorism.”
However, the meet could see some controversy too with the right wing historians planning to distribute a book to challenge Marxist historians.
The book, titled, “Did Moscow Play Fraud on Marx? The Mystery of Marx-Engels’ articles on 1857”, is a collection of articles analysing India’s first war of independence in 1857. These articles, authored by historian Devendra Swarup, were earlier published in the weekly “Organiser” which is considered to be the mouthpiece of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India’s highly influential Hindu group.
Swarup said earlier: “We want Marxist historians to come clean on this. We would like them to respond to what we have put forward in this book.” The book has 28 articles – all critical of Marxist historians.
Right wing historians, grouped under the banner of Historians Forum, are set to distribute the book and ask Leftist historians to respond.
The book attacks Marxist historians, questioning the validity of their viewpoint on India’s first war of independence based on Marx’s interpretation of the events. It claims that Indian Marxists have propagated this myth that Karl Marx, who was reporting from London for some newspapers at that time, wrote extensively about India’s struggle for freedom in 1857.
The book, based on extensive research, claims that the archives nowhere reflect that Marx wrote more than a couple of articles on events in India in 1857. It launches a scathing attack on noted contemporary and past historians and intellectuals known for their Left leanings such as Irfan Habib, Rajni Palme Datt and Mulkraj Anand.
The Indian History Congress was established in 1935 and currently has around 10,000 members. Its constitution describes it as a body to promote and encourage scientific study of Indian history.