Hyderabad: On Saturday evening, an elaborate discussion went on for more than two hours in a boat on the Husainsagar lake. A panel of historians and the writers congregated to discuses on the writings of historical fiction and the veracity of the historical accounts to which we are exposed.
The discussion started on the books published in the name of inspiration and how some stories are misleading. Mr Punna Krishna Murthy said: “The tools of history will be always correct, timelines, records, archeological evidence, those threads will be correct but how far have the writers put in historical facts in the true sense is debatable. I believe history always has a slant anyway.”
Khadeer Babu, a writer, shared “When I went to Agra, along with a group of 40 people, a guide joined us as a part of package, as we were entering the Agra Fort, the guide questioned us: How many people know that Shah Jahan chopped the hands of the crafts men who constructed the Taj Mahal? And all the hands went up. Than the guide said: ‘As far as I believe and as far as I have been getting the story from my forefathers, the emperor did not chop off any hands, but he gave them enough money to live for the rest of their lives. However, he took an oath from them that they will not work on their skilled craft thereafter. This was like chopping their hands. History is sometimes literalised for sensational purposes”
Kotti Reddy, retired teacher, who taught History for about 40 years said: “Today, history has been mangled. At present, how are we teaching as history. The prime minister is teaching us history, chief ministers are teaching us history, MLAs are teaching us history now. History is moulded as per their convenience and these people have no sense of history. Universities and colleges are teaching as per their ideologies, I feel the education system has collapsed.”
