Historiography: Indian Tradition
Class 10-History-Chapter-2 Maharashtra Board
Notes
Tradition of Indian Historiography
Historiography in the ancient period :
- In ancient India, memories of the great deeds of ancestors and mythological lore and memories of social transitions were preserved through recitation.
- The art of writing was known to Indians as early as the third millennium B.C.E. But no one has yet been able to decipher thewriting of that period.
- The earliest known written documents found in India are in the form of inscriptions.
- The first known specimen of writing was found on the rock inscriptions and stone pillars dated to 3rd century B.C.E. It was inscribed during the rule of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka.
- The inscriptions begin to occur on coins, metal images and sculptures and copper plates from 1st century CE.
- They depicted dates of kings, dynastic geneologies, territorial extent, administration of kingdoms and empires, political events, social organisations, climate, famines, etc.
Written sources of ancient Indian literature (History) Information from ancient written sources: (Inscriptions)
Kalhana :
- In the 12th century C.E. Kalhana wrote 'Rajtarangini' — a book on history of Kashmir.
- His style of writing resembles the concept of modem historiography.
- The book was written after critically examining various sources like inscriptions, coins, remains of ancient monuments, dynastic records and local traditions.
Medieval Indian Historiography
Muslim Historians : Ziauddin Barani : Book-Tarikh-i-Phiruz Shahi He stated purpose of historiography : Babar : Book- Tuzuk-i-Babari Abul Fazl : Book- Akbarnama Characteristics of his historiography : Hasan Nizami : Tajul-Ma’asir Minhaj-i-Siraj : Tabaqat-i-Nasiri Amir Khusrau : ‘Tuzuk-i-Timuri - the autobiography of Timur (-i) Lang, who invaded India. Yahya Bin Ahmad Sirhindi : Tarikh-i- Mubarakshahi Their accounts provide us with historic information of Sultanate period.
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Features of Muslim historiography :
Bakhar : It is an important type of historical documents of medieval times. It contains eulogies of the heroes and stories of historic events, battles, lives of great men. It is also called biography of eminent statesmen of the Maratha period.
Types of Bakhars :
- Biographies of kings,
- Dynastic history,
- Descriptions of events,
- History of a sect,
- Autobiographies regarding grievance,
- Based on mythologies,
- State administration by a king.
Information chronicled in Bakhar :
| Early bakhars had lot of Arabic influence. Many scholars believed that the word Bakhar is derived from the Arabic word 'Khabar'. Bakhars are historical narratives in prose form and have great importance as sources of history. More than 200 akhars were written between 1760 and 1850.
We get description of prevalent social conditions and history. Detailed description of Shivaji Maharaj, Bhausaheb Peshwa and of Panipat battle is found in bakhars, Language used is very rich and figurative with great narration. Bakhars are looked upon as a form of prose literature than rather historical source. |
Historiography in the Modern Period in India :
- Archaeological excavations started in the 20th century under the British rule.
- Many British officers wrote about Indian history. Their writing showed great influence of colonial policies of the British.
- Their writings display an absence of objective perspective and prejudice about various aspects of the Indian culture.
British officers who wrote about Indian History : Sir Alexander Cunningham : (23 Jan 1814 -28 Nov 1893) He carried out excavations at Sarnath and wrote a book on it. He wrote on sculptures in the temples of Kashmir. He also wrote on Numismatics, temples, stupas and geography. He studied and conducted research on relics found in Bodh Goya. He laid the foundation of different disciplines required in the study of archaeology. Sir John Marshall : (19 Mar. 1878 -17 Aug. 1958) He was the Director of Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1931. During his tenure, excavations at Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, Takshashila, Sanchi were carried out. He modernised approach oi cataloguing and conservation of ancient monuments. He published information on inscriptions discovered at various sites. His most important work is the discovery of the ‘Indus Valley Civilisation'. James Mill : (6 April 1773 ~ 23 lune 1836) He was a Scottish philosopher, historian and economist. He started writing the History of British India in 1806 and completed it in 1817. His book was the first full historical treatment of the British conquest of India. Mill harshly criticised the British administration of India. During his 17 years of service with the India House he helped to completely reform the system of government in the colony. Mountstuart Elphinstone : (6 Oct. 1779 — 20 Nov. 1859) He was a British official who did much to promote popular education and local administration. As envoy, he was appointed to the court of Peshwa II, Bhosales of Nagpur and in the court of Gwalior. He knew Greek, Marathi, Roman and Persian languages. The wealthy natives of Bombay founded a college and institute to honour him for his work. Grant Duff : (8 Iuly 1789 — 23 September 1858) He was appointed to the important office of resident of Satara state to manage affairs of the state. While in Satara, he collected historical sources like Bakhars, sanads, manuscripts, texts, etc. He collected letters of Aurangzeb and Shivaji's letters to Vyankoji. Colonel Todd : Book-Todd's Annals of Rajasthan William Wilson Hunter : Book- A Brief History of India
Indian Historiography various ideological frameworks :
Colonial Historiography : The early scholars who studied and wrote Indian history were mainly British officers and Christian missionaries.
- Their writing reflected their view that Indian culture had negligible importance
- They ridiculed the Indian culture as perpetually backward and undeveloped.
- Their writings justified the colonial rule.
- The five volumes of 'Cambridge History of India’ published between 1922-1937 CE are examples of Colonial historiography.
Orientalist Historiography : Many European historians felt curious about civilisations and countries of the East. Some of those scholars felt admiration and respect for them. These scholars were known as ‘Orientalists’.
- A comparative study of Sanskrit and some of the European languages was conducted by Orientalists.
- Their studies resulted in a perception that an Indian language could be mother of all Indo-European languages.
Orientalist Historians :
Nationalist Historiography : The writings of english educated Indian historians who were trained in the British educational system show an inclination to restore the pride in the ancient glory of India and the self-esteem of the Indian readers. Their writings are known as Nationalist Historiography.
- They criticised the prejudiced history of ancient India written by British officers.
- The Indian historians wanted to create awareness among Indian masses through their writings about the country's rich past.
- Nationalist historians tried to seek the golden era of Indian history.
- Their attention was drawn towards geographic conditions and history of different regions of India.
- The nationalistic historiography helped in triggering the independence movement. It provided a momentum to the writing of regional histories for e.g. Nationalistic writings in Maharashtra were inspired by Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar.
Hence, writing of the regional history received momentum.
Nationalistic Historians : Nationalistic Historians inspired by - Vishnushastri Chiplunkar These are the names of some renowned scholars among the nationalistic historians.
Writings of Indian Historiography : Vishnushcrstri Chiplunkur : Nationalistic writing V.K. Rajwade : Book- Marathyanchya Itihasachi Sadhane (22 volumes) Founded the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak Mandal. His views on historiography : Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade: Book-The Rise of Maratha Power Vinayak Damodar Savarkar : Book- The Indian War of Independence, 1857 Govind Sakharam Sardesai : Book-Marathi Riyasat
Historiography in the Post Independence Era :
- In the post-independence period, along with dynastic history, cultural, social and economic histories were also written.
- New schools of thought like Marxist, Subaltern and Feminist History were included in historiography.
- The scholars in this era began to feel the need of writing histories of various communities, sciences, economic systems, political ideologies, cultural aspects, etc.
- They presented the new schools of ideologies. These changes increased the scope of writing historiography.
Marxist History : Indian Marxist Historians :
Subaltern History :
- The seeds of Subaltern history are found in Marxist historiography. Subaltern history is the history of people who are considered as the 'bottommost ranks’ of the society.
- The process of writing history should start from the bottommost rank. Italian historian Antonio Gramsci played an important role in developing this idea.
- Ranjit Guha played an important role in establishing subaltern history as an important academic school of historiography.
- Mahatma Phule drew attention to the exploitation of women, Shudras and Atishudras under the pretext of religion in his book 'Gulamgiri'.
- Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in his two books, ‘Who were the Shudras' and ‘The Untouchables’ wrote about the injustice done to the dalits and their significant role in shaping the cultural and political aspect of India.
Feminist History :
Challenges faced by feminist historians :
- For a long period of time, male scholars were involved in the writing of Indian history. Hence the role and achievements of women in history remained neglected.
- To highlight this tact became the major task of feminist historian. It was a daunting task to compile and study the historical writings of women.
- It was also necessary and important to rethink of women's position in history.
Feminist historians : Tarabai Shinde : Book- Stripurush Tulana Pandita Ramabai : Book- The High Caste Hindu Women Meera: Kosumbi : Book- Crossing Thresholds :Feminist Essays in Social history. Dr. Sharmila Rege : Book- Writing Caste, Writing Gender : Reading Dalit Women's Testimonies
Important Events and Years
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