The History of History

Author: Vinay LalPublisher: Oxford University PressYear: 2006Language: EnglishPages: 325ISBN/UPC (if available): 019567244-5 DescriptionThere has long been a view that historical thinking was never prized much in India. This study of the politics of history-writing explores the ascendancy of history, offering a nuanced account of who historical thinking, and the discipline of history, began to assume importance in colonial and independent India.Along with discussions of the role of historians in the dispute over the now-destroyed Babri Masjid and the so-called saffronization of history textbooks, the book also engages with subaltern Studies, and provides insights into iconic debates over Shivaji, Aurangzed, beef-eating, and the relationship between history and masculinity. The final chapter considers Cyberdiasporic Hinduism and offers a critique of new Hindu histories on the Internet. This is not a comprehensive account of history-writing in India over the last two centuries; rather, i