Overview

History is a hot topic in popular politics of the public domain. Pressures from different kinds of ideological positions and politics of identities of various kinds put serious constraints on the practice and writing of history. Despite the challenges, scholarship has continued to grow. Current historiographical thrusts illustrate how a whole range of themes and issues are dealt with by professional historians from a variety of perspectives with reference to sources and evidence. For instance, issues relating to the complex interactions between religion and political culture are no longer being swept under the carpet. This collection of short essays and extended discussions on current research aims to intervene in public debates on what exactly happened in history. Given the situation, attempts of this kind can possibly help in somewhat bridging the wide gap between serious academic research and misplaced assumptions of popular histories.

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9789394262140

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Reviews

"This articulate collection of engaged writings...highlights the value of rigorous historical research as part of knowledge production. The book stresses the need to protect respectful co-existence in composite India, managed by a diversity-conscious state that uses historically-informed templates and guidance to maintain feasible balances between order in the public realm and cultivating freedom of expression in this troubled post-truth era."""" - Werner Menski, Emeritus Professor of South Asian Laws, SOAS, University of London, UK """"Raziuddin Aquil is one of the most engaged, lively and brilliant of Indian historians writing today. This collection of essays and reviews on subjects ranging from language, religion and identity to animals, architecture and music demonstrates history's unique power of intervention in public debates. In an easy, accessible style, wearing its scholarship lightly, Aquil's book illuminates issues that tear our polity apart, showing how we can learn lessons of peace from the turmoils of the past, and use historical evidence to sift and judge contemporary truth-claims."""" - Supriya Chaudhuri, Professor (Emerita), Department of English, Jadavpur University, Kolkata """"This fine collection of essays and book reviews on entanglements of religion and politics is addressed to an educated public, because false views about both history and religion are being used to target 'others' as internal enemies of the nations of South Asia. The book reveals the author's own scholarly virtues: impartial judgment, generosity and respect for the work of many different colleagues, on wide-ranging themes of crucial import in history and the present. His own essays provide refreshing correction to many ideas about Islam, from the supposed ancient Islamic sacredness of the colour green to the presumed Islamic condemnation of dogs and music. Essays also display the author's hope that when history and historians enter the public realm, they may help restore a centuries-old understanding of how to create more peace in a multi-religious society."""" - David L. Curley, Professor Emeritus, Western Washington University, USA"

Author Information

Raziuddin Aquil teaches history at the University of Delhi. Professor Aquil has published widely on religious traditions, literary practices and political culture in medieval and early modern India.

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