Thiruvananthapuram: Noted Historian Romila Thapar has said that the social status, caste, intellectual capabilities, job and environment of a historian was relevant while analysing his writtings.
Ms Thapar was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Indian History Congress at Kariavattom campus of the Kerala University here on Wednesday. She added that present day history could be recorded only by giving emphasis on evidence.
One of the attractions of the History Congress on Dutch panel aimed at raising awareness among Indian historians of the value of Dutch sources for the study of India’s past. The vast records of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and related Dutch materials contain a wealth of information on India’s political, economic, and cultural history in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The panel would deal with archives of the Dutch East India Company that have been re-inventoried in detail and, when necessary, restored, a series of archival guides—titled Dutch Sources on South Asia, c.1600-1825 and, large portions of the Dutch records, including the collections in Chennai and The Hague.
The panel consisted of eight speakers, Gijs Kruijtzer Anna Pytlowany, Lennart Bess, Jinna Smit, Merve Tosun, Alexander Geelan , Bram Van Den Hout and Ruby Maloni.
President Pranab Mukherjee will officially inaugurate the 77th session of the Indian History Congress at the Karyavattom campus of the Kerala University on December 29 at golden jubilee hall of the university at Karyavattom at 12.30 p.m.
