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Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Line, Their Fraud
Shourie has the anecdotal reasoning of Nirad Chaudhuri married to the writing style of Robert Ludlum. Both are in ample evidence in this book.' - India Today
In this incisive commentary, Arun Shourie documents the ways in which our history textbooks have been doctored by leftist historians. Thoroughly researched and riveting, this study brings to light the techniques and frauds that a cabal of some of our best-known academicians has used to promote themselves, and to acquire control over institutions. And then to put these supposedly academic institutions to use.
Shourie shows how, in the process, this cabal has perverted India's historical narrative, and thereby vitiated the country's public discourse. Two new chapters bring to light recent developments in the field: how, with their holy scriptures having been repudiated in their holy cities, these 'historians' strive to retain their perches by dominating niche domains; how these efforts are bound to fail; but how their trajectory holds vital lessons for those who seek to replace them.
A must read for every Indian who has an interest in the country's history and a stake in its future.
In this incisive commentary, Arun Shourie documents the ways in which our history textbooks have been doctored by leftist historians. Thoroughly researched and riveting, this study brings to light the techniques and frauds that a cabal of some of our best-known academicians has used to promote themselves, and to acquire control over institutions. And then to put these supposedly academic institutions to use.
Shourie shows how, in the process, this cabal has perverted India's historical narrative, and thereby vitiated the country's public discourse. Two new chapters bring to light recent developments in the field: how, with their holy scriptures having been repudiated in their holy cities, these 'historians' strive to retain their perches by dominating niche domains; how these efforts are bound to fail; but how their trajectory holds vital lessons for those who seek to replace them.
A must read for every Indian who has an interest in the country's history and a stake in its future.
456 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1998
125 people are currently reading
1733 people want to read
About the author
Arun Shourie
39 books298 followersIndian economist, journalist, author and politician.
He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission of India, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India and a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Vajpayee Ministry (1998–2004). He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Popularly perceived as one of the main Hindu nationalist intellectuals during the 90s and early 2000s.
He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission of India, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India and a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Vajpayee Ministry (1998–2004). He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Popularly perceived as one of the main Hindu nationalist intellectuals during the 90s and early 2000s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
September 25, 2015
Arun Shourie, BJP ideologue and Hindu apologist, is at his aggressive best in this "expose" of the leftist historians in India: Irfan Habib, Romila Thapar, Bipan Chandra, Satish Chandra et al. His attack is two-pronged. One: the official historians at the ICHR (Indian Council of Historic Research) consumed millions of rupees in public funds with precious little output to show for it. Two: they purposefully distorted Indian history by not mentioning the atrocities of Muslim invaders against Hindus and Buddhists, while at the same time inventing Hindu atrocities against Buddhists and Jains on the most tenuous evidence.
Shourie produces an impressive array of documentary evidence in support of the first accusation. If it is true, it is high time the whole thing was investigated by the CBI! Of course, it may be only old-fashioned government lethargy without any intend to defraud: even then, the people responsible for the same should be held accountable.
In case of the second accusation, I am in broad agreement with his contention that evidence of Islamic atrocities have been swept under the carpet in the interest of political correctness in Indian history-writing. Shourie has used as sources the accounts of court historians of Aurangazeb et al, about the destruction of "the places of worship of the infidels". The official line that this was just to acquire booty does not hold water, in the face of the praise heaped on these conquerors for committing these acts. I remember the same thing being mentioned by the Malayalam writer Anand in his book Vettakkaranum Virunnukaranum ("The Hunter and the Guest"), and his being called an "Islamophobe" because of it.
However, Shourie puts on the same blinkers when he discusses Hinduism. He flogs the dead horse of the Hindutva contention that Hinduism originated in India in times immemorial and there were no Aryan intrusions into the country. He mentions caste just in passing and fails to discuss how Brahmins ruled with an iron hand over the hapless lower castes. He purposefully casts Hinduism as a monolithic religion based on the Vedas, pulling out a few straw men from the criticisms against it, and easily demolishing them. He ignores the many nuances of Hinduism which do not fit in anywhere with the Vedas. While discussing the Marxists' betrayal of the Quit India movement, he is silent on the murder of Gandhi by a Hindu fanatic.
Ultimately, the author's prejudices defeat his purpose. This book will preach mainly to the choir. However, for people with only a sketchy idea about Indian history, Shourie will feel very authentic. My only suggestion to such readers is to also read books with opposing viewpoints, and form your own opinions.
---------------------------------
I would request people who visit this review to go through the discussion thread below, also. A lot of GR members have come up with strong arguments counter to mine, which repay attention.
---------------------------------
An interesting review which effectively takes apart Shourie's book:
Investigative Journalism or Slander: Do You Have More Questions Mr. Shourie?
I especially loved the last paragraph:
---------------------------------
I did some research on Shourie's "sources": and interestingly, the person whom he sets most stock by, Sita Ram Goel, is a hard-core Hindu fundamentalist who has run into trouble with the authorities various times for the publication of inflammatory material.
Sita Ram Goel
In fact there is a whole group out there with these fringe historical theories, not all of them Indian or even Hindu.
Out of India Theory.
Most of their books are available online. I will be reading some of them as time permits.
Shourie produces an impressive array of documentary evidence in support of the first accusation. If it is true, it is high time the whole thing was investigated by the CBI! Of course, it may be only old-fashioned government lethargy without any intend to defraud: even then, the people responsible for the same should be held accountable.
In case of the second accusation, I am in broad agreement with his contention that evidence of Islamic atrocities have been swept under the carpet in the interest of political correctness in Indian history-writing. Shourie has used as sources the accounts of court historians of Aurangazeb et al, about the destruction of "the places of worship of the infidels". The official line that this was just to acquire booty does not hold water, in the face of the praise heaped on these conquerors for committing these acts. I remember the same thing being mentioned by the Malayalam writer Anand in his book Vettakkaranum Virunnukaranum ("The Hunter and the Guest"), and his being called an "Islamophobe" because of it.
However, Shourie puts on the same blinkers when he discusses Hinduism. He flogs the dead horse of the Hindutva contention that Hinduism originated in India in times immemorial and there were no Aryan intrusions into the country. He mentions caste just in passing and fails to discuss how Brahmins ruled with an iron hand over the hapless lower castes. He purposefully casts Hinduism as a monolithic religion based on the Vedas, pulling out a few straw men from the criticisms against it, and easily demolishing them. He ignores the many nuances of Hinduism which do not fit in anywhere with the Vedas. While discussing the Marxists' betrayal of the Quit India movement, he is silent on the murder of Gandhi by a Hindu fanatic.
Ultimately, the author's prejudices defeat his purpose. This book will preach mainly to the choir. However, for people with only a sketchy idea about Indian history, Shourie will feel very authentic. My only suggestion to such readers is to also read books with opposing viewpoints, and form your own opinions.
---------------------------------
I would request people who visit this review to go through the discussion thread below, also. A lot of GR members have come up with strong arguments counter to mine, which repay attention.
---------------------------------
An interesting review which effectively takes apart Shourie's book:
Investigative Journalism or Slander: Do You Have More Questions Mr. Shourie?
I especially loved the last paragraph:
In the end, it is hardly comprehensible that a winner of Magsaysay Award for investigative journalism should write as such a reckless ignoramus. But one easily understands that an upwardly mobile political ideologue in a hurry should do so.
---------------------------------
I did some research on Shourie's "sources": and interestingly, the person whom he sets most stock by, Sita Ram Goel, is a hard-core Hindu fundamentalist who has run into trouble with the authorities various times for the publication of inflammatory material.
Sita Ram Goel
In fact there is a whole group out there with these fringe historical theories, not all of them Indian or even Hindu.
Out of India Theory.
Most of their books are available online. I will be reading some of them as time permits.
April 30, 2019
Brilliant book. This book is an eye opener for me. Everyone should read it. This book show how leftist with the help congress distorted our Indian history. You can see how ICHR (Indian Council of Historical Research) are corrupted to the core. These eminent historian charge money in the name of so called "honorary” and they took so much money in the name of project which they haven't completed or even submit any progress. In India, our history is never written in neutral point of view. It is always left leaning to fulfill their agenda and propagate their ideology in Indian history which we all study in schools and universities through NCERT books. This book try to reveal history which was hidden. It makes you realise how our own history was distorted. This was a fantastic read for me who is a product or a victim of the distorted history. Even history books of Bengal and Kerala is totally because communist was there. These historian will even propagate you to believe in "Aryan invasion theory" bullshit.
The problem is our history is always written from Delhi centric or Delhi point of view. I am a tamilian by birth born in Nagpur who has lived in more than 5 different cities. There is always a part of me who constantly look for culture, tradition and history of our nation.
There was only ONE chapter of Chola, Chera and Pandya dynasty. THREE dynasties in ONE chapter. You can imagine. These three dynasties have been for longer period of time compare to those leftist “fav dynasty” mughal, Delhi sultanate and Tughlaq dynasty
No history of Nagpur…No mentioned of Bhosale family who have served under Maratha empire and ancient town Ramtek.
No history of Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh is known for 36 forts and no mentioned of 75 days of Bastar dushhera. Chhattisgarh is only known for naxalite issue. See the irony here leftist in ICHR and in naxalite.
No history of Bhopal, Ujjain and Indore and Maheshwar.
No mentioned of famous Battle of Bhopal where Baji Rao defeated Mughal empire.
No mentioned of Raja Bhoj from Parmara dynasty.
No mentioned of Avanti(Ujjain) which was the capital of Malwa and how holy city it is.
No mentioned of famous Ahilya Bai from Maheshwar.
No mentioned of Holkar family who served under Maratha empire from Indore.
No mentioned of Pune.. how this city flourished under Maratha empire.
Do you how Mumbai name came to exist being one of the 12th richest city in the world.....Naahhh
It came from Goddess name Mumba devi. Originally Mumbai was formation of the seven islands and it was a part of Ashoka empire.
Above mentioned are cities I have lived in. There are so many dynasties. Now u can imagine how our history are erased or not even mentioning in history books. This is the reason I travel a lot and read lot of non fiction and try to avoid leftist books.
I have one relative, her ancestor where syrian christains who came to Kerala because all the atrocities did by Islamic invasion in Syria. Syria was a Christian country. No mentioned of how they came in Kerala and how they lived here. No mentioned of it. Nothing.
You can see the amount of history they have distorted by telling lies about Ram Janmabhoomi.There are lot of evidences found in Ram Janmabhoomi. These marxists are the one who are disrupting the harmony of Hinduism and mohammedan. If you want to know the truth listen to the Indian archaeologist k.k. mohammed in YouTube regarding Ram Janmabhoomi.
You can see how these historian degrade our scriptures by saying all fault and utter bullshit. Belittling Hindu scriptures are their main purpose in the name of "freedom of speech". And you know books written by these eminent historian are recommended by coaching institute to those who are preparing for UPSC exams. Being a MBA finance guy, i even thought of doing a course in Indian history just for increasing my knowledge. That plan is cancel now after reading so many distorted history.
If you ever feel that you have not read the real history like me. This is the perfect book for you which will tell you reason for it and how they distort it. Highly recommended.
The problem is our history is always written from Delhi centric or Delhi point of view. I am a tamilian by birth born in Nagpur who has lived in more than 5 different cities. There is always a part of me who constantly look for culture, tradition and history of our nation.
There was only ONE chapter of Chola, Chera and Pandya dynasty. THREE dynasties in ONE chapter. You can imagine. These three dynasties have been for longer period of time compare to those leftist “fav dynasty” mughal, Delhi sultanate and Tughlaq dynasty
No history of Nagpur…No mentioned of Bhosale family who have served under Maratha empire and ancient town Ramtek.
No history of Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh is known for 36 forts and no mentioned of 75 days of Bastar dushhera. Chhattisgarh is only known for naxalite issue. See the irony here leftist in ICHR and in naxalite.
No history of Bhopal, Ujjain and Indore and Maheshwar.
No mentioned of famous Battle of Bhopal where Baji Rao defeated Mughal empire.
No mentioned of Raja Bhoj from Parmara dynasty.
No mentioned of Avanti(Ujjain) which was the capital of Malwa and how holy city it is.
No mentioned of famous Ahilya Bai from Maheshwar.
No mentioned of Holkar family who served under Maratha empire from Indore.
No mentioned of Pune.. how this city flourished under Maratha empire.
Do you how Mumbai name came to exist being one of the 12th richest city in the world.....Naahhh
It came from Goddess name Mumba devi. Originally Mumbai was formation of the seven islands and it was a part of Ashoka empire.
Above mentioned are cities I have lived in. There are so many dynasties. Now u can imagine how our history are erased or not even mentioning in history books. This is the reason I travel a lot and read lot of non fiction and try to avoid leftist books.
I have one relative, her ancestor where syrian christains who came to Kerala because all the atrocities did by Islamic invasion in Syria. Syria was a Christian country. No mentioned of how they came in Kerala and how they lived here. No mentioned of it. Nothing.
You can see the amount of history they have distorted by telling lies about Ram Janmabhoomi.There are lot of evidences found in Ram Janmabhoomi. These marxists are the one who are disrupting the harmony of Hinduism and mohammedan. If you want to know the truth listen to the Indian archaeologist k.k. mohammed in YouTube regarding Ram Janmabhoomi.
You can see how these historian degrade our scriptures by saying all fault and utter bullshit. Belittling Hindu scriptures are their main purpose in the name of "freedom of speech". And you know books written by these eminent historian are recommended by coaching institute to those who are preparing for UPSC exams. Being a MBA finance guy, i even thought of doing a course in Indian history just for increasing my knowledge. That plan is cancel now after reading so many distorted history.
If you ever feel that you have not read the real history like me. This is the perfect book for you which will tell you reason for it and how they distort it. Highly recommended.
August 24, 2009
I feel that Mr. Shourie should have been given somehting like BHARAT RATNA for this piece of work , but as its not in my hand i can just say thanks to Mr. Shourie . Classic work and an eye opener. Some points which touched me :
1. Reference to the work of ICHR which is like hell and there books are like dust.
2. The on going tampering of Indian History by so called leftist and its impact.
3. Even the russian are fair in your history then these eminent historians.
I think its the time for leftist and ICHR to have a postive look and should try to be practical !
1. Reference to the work of ICHR which is like hell and there books are like dust.
2. The on going tampering of Indian History by so called leftist and its impact.
3. Even the russian are fair in your history then these eminent historians.
I think its the time for leftist and ICHR to have a postive look and should try to be practical !
November 16, 2012
For any parent in India who sends his kids to school today thinking that he/she is giving the best of education of the past needs to do a rethink....these eminent historians of marxist/communist background distorted history so much that it has emerged as a monster which gobbles the truth up every time an Indian identity surfaces....we are being taught to loathe ourselves and it is these historians that need to be held guilty in a Nuremberg trial of sorts IMHO...An excellent companion piece with this book would be Arun Shourie's " The Only Fatherland" (this book has been suppressed by the leftist lobby in India..Im still hunting for a copy)...Shourie wrote this book in the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition of 1992...10 years later Godhra was to follow and another gang of liars with the same agenda came out in the open with their propaganda...thankfully we have the Internet to counter their lies.....
*Bunch of quick points*
Shourie was the chief editor of Indian Express in the glory days of IE..infact the only glory days of IE were under him.....Shekhar Gupta and Kuldip Nayar were just Congress owned pen pushing stooges....As a cultural reference, those who have watched Mani Ratnam's movie Guru- Abhishek Bachchan's character is Dhirubhai Ambani, Mithun Chakraborty's character is Ramnath Goenka (his paper is Indian Express), Madhavan's role depicts S Gurumurthy, another blue eyed boy of Goenka...Infact it was Shourie and Gurumurthy both who hounded Ambani after he knowingly/unknowingly unleashed a culture of crony capitalism as a rebuttal to the license-raj policies of the government then. Towering figures and exemplary journalists,all of them...Shourie continues to inspire even today as he did many years ago.....#More power to his pen and mind#
*Bunch of quick points*
Shourie was the chief editor of Indian Express in the glory days of IE..infact the only glory days of IE were under him.....Shekhar Gupta and Kuldip Nayar were just Congress owned pen pushing stooges....As a cultural reference, those who have watched Mani Ratnam's movie Guru- Abhishek Bachchan's character is Dhirubhai Ambani, Mithun Chakraborty's character is Ramnath Goenka (his paper is Indian Express), Madhavan's role depicts S Gurumurthy, another blue eyed boy of Goenka...Infact it was Shourie and Gurumurthy both who hounded Ambani after he knowingly/unknowingly unleashed a culture of crony capitalism as a rebuttal to the license-raj policies of the government then. Towering figures and exemplary journalists,all of them...Shourie continues to inspire even today as he did many years ago.....#More power to his pen and mind#
April 3, 2013
Is our national identity flawed? and is it by design? who is to blame?
These are a few fundamental questions Mr. Shourie is trying to answer in this book.
I must confess, while going through the first 50 or so pages, I had almost decided that Mr. Shourie had written this book to settle a personal score with a few from some organization. How wrong I was!
It is only when I almost finished the book did it dawn upon me that what Mr. Shourie had done was an immaculate display of case presentation to the reader in answering these tough questions.
You see, one's notion of national identity/ nationalism ebbs from what he or she knows about his country's history, its origins, its cultural DNA. More often than not, for most of us, this education begins and ends with what our textbooks tell us in that regard unless of course you pursue history itself as a career. However, for those that prefer to venture into greener pastures seldom give thought to accuracy of the history lessons we were taught.
This is where Mr. Shourie begins his attack; content of the history books of various grades in schools and other important literary works. Are our children (were we for that matter) being told the history as it was or is vote bank politics polluting historical accuracy in an effort to appease certain sections in our country? Mr. Shourie citing exhaustive amount of sources very effectively argues that it is indeed so the case.
This book touches so many points that this review could alone run into various pages if I were to cite even a few to provide my opinion on them. However, I will say this that more than being a book filled with excellent case presentation, this is an important wake-up call for every serious thinker to ponder about how our Indian nationalism is molded in poor taste through systematic insertion of false positive data in our history sources and where it will all lead to.
Four stars as the language is sometimes way too complicated (I had a dictionary close-by when reading this book) and makes the reading pace really difficult for the average person.
P.S - I am quite apprehensive that this book may end up being marked as an "your versus me" argument around religion. It is NOT that; At least in my opinion. So, unless you can judge an argument only by its merit and not by the subjective emotions it evokes, worse yet with religious context, you are better off avoiding this book.
These are a few fundamental questions Mr. Shourie is trying to answer in this book.
I must confess, while going through the first 50 or so pages, I had almost decided that Mr. Shourie had written this book to settle a personal score with a few from some organization. How wrong I was!
It is only when I almost finished the book did it dawn upon me that what Mr. Shourie had done was an immaculate display of case presentation to the reader in answering these tough questions.
You see, one's notion of national identity/ nationalism ebbs from what he or she knows about his country's history, its origins, its cultural DNA. More often than not, for most of us, this education begins and ends with what our textbooks tell us in that regard unless of course you pursue history itself as a career. However, for those that prefer to venture into greener pastures seldom give thought to accuracy of the history lessons we were taught.
This is where Mr. Shourie begins his attack; content of the history books of various grades in schools and other important literary works. Are our children (were we for that matter) being told the history as it was or is vote bank politics polluting historical accuracy in an effort to appease certain sections in our country? Mr. Shourie citing exhaustive amount of sources very effectively argues that it is indeed so the case.
This book touches so many points that this review could alone run into various pages if I were to cite even a few to provide my opinion on them. However, I will say this that more than being a book filled with excellent case presentation, this is an important wake-up call for every serious thinker to ponder about how our Indian nationalism is molded in poor taste through systematic insertion of false positive data in our history sources and where it will all lead to.
Four stars as the language is sometimes way too complicated (I had a dictionary close-by when reading this book) and makes the reading pace really difficult for the average person.
P.S - I am quite apprehensive that this book may end up being marked as an "your versus me" argument around religion. It is NOT that; At least in my opinion. So, unless you can judge an argument only by its merit and not by the subjective emotions it evokes, worse yet with religious context, you are better off avoiding this book.
January 7, 2014
"If you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going. And if you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong" - Terry Pratchett
This quote is as true for Countries as much as it is for people. The only way to know where you come from is through history. It’s very important for us to know the history of our country. It's the collective memory of human society. It teaches us the strengths, weaknesses, good, evils of Human Nature and Society at large. It helps us understands events that lead to the rise and fall of great kingdoms and Civilizations.
India is the oldest country with continuous civilization as far as recorded history is available. Rig veda is the oldest written scripture available in Human history. India is the home of first urban civilization. The history of such a Country would be a fascinating subject of interest and huge inspiration to the people of any country.
One's notion of national identity/ nationalism comes from what he or she knows about his country's history, its origins, its cultural DNA. More often than not, for most of us, this education begins and ends with what our textbooks tell us regardless of the facts unless you pursue history as your career.
Are Indian history text books really a source of inspiration for us? Do they make us aware of the true facts of our civilization? Sadly the answer is “No”. History writing in India has been hijacked by Marxists historians of JNU class who have constantly derided the virtues of Indians/Hindus. In their perennial hatred for Hinduism, they have gone to the extent of praising barbaric rule of Islamic invaders and whitewashed their crimes from history books. History has been distorted and twisted, to suit the political agenda of the socialists. India’s premier historical institutions like ICHR, academic and research facilities, have been dominated from the beginning by leftist historians.
The details of all such inaccuracies and Goebbels propagandist writing are unmasked by “Arun Shourie” in this beautifully written book “Eminent Historians”.
Well as a last resort, the publishers have been pressurised not reprint this book despite the demand. It’s always “out of stock” in flipkart.
Coming back to the initial quote, we are not being told where we came from accurately, so we do not know where we are. And now you know where you are going.
This quote is as true for Countries as much as it is for people. The only way to know where you come from is through history. It’s very important for us to know the history of our country. It's the collective memory of human society. It teaches us the strengths, weaknesses, good, evils of Human Nature and Society at large. It helps us understands events that lead to the rise and fall of great kingdoms and Civilizations.
India is the oldest country with continuous civilization as far as recorded history is available. Rig veda is the oldest written scripture available in Human history. India is the home of first urban civilization. The history of such a Country would be a fascinating subject of interest and huge inspiration to the people of any country.
One's notion of national identity/ nationalism comes from what he or she knows about his country's history, its origins, its cultural DNA. More often than not, for most of us, this education begins and ends with what our textbooks tell us regardless of the facts unless you pursue history as your career.
Are Indian history text books really a source of inspiration for us? Do they make us aware of the true facts of our civilization? Sadly the answer is “No”. History writing in India has been hijacked by Marxists historians of JNU class who have constantly derided the virtues of Indians/Hindus. In their perennial hatred for Hinduism, they have gone to the extent of praising barbaric rule of Islamic invaders and whitewashed their crimes from history books. History has been distorted and twisted, to suit the political agenda of the socialists. India’s premier historical institutions like ICHR, academic and research facilities, have been dominated from the beginning by leftist historians.
The details of all such inaccuracies and Goebbels propagandist writing are unmasked by “Arun Shourie” in this beautifully written book “Eminent Historians”.
Well as a last resort, the publishers have been pressurised not reprint this book despite the demand. It’s always “out of stock” in flipkart.
Coming back to the initial quote, we are not being told where we came from accurately, so we do not know where we are. And now you know where you are going.
February 11, 2014
I think one should not waste much energy to read his defence for Right-wing Indian fascism of Hindutava, but that must be poured to graduate with double curiosity his extremely well-investigated attack on Islamic disturbances.
I think, one day Arun Shourie, writer of good skills, will learn that as much as he hates homicidal and fanatical Islamic forces; we do hate, we identify his cause but we also go on step further, where he fails, to destroy his cult of Hindutava by using his own logic :)
I think, one day Arun Shourie, writer of good skills, will learn that as much as he hates homicidal and fanatical Islamic forces; we do hate, we identify his cause but we also go on step further, where he fails, to destroy his cult of Hindutava by using his own logic :)
January 20, 2014
I read the Ramayan and wondered how Lord Ram , a man and warrior pining and crying for his wife, who faces all his trials with great fortitude, has been described by leftists as "patriarchial" . It just did not make any sense .
I read the Bhagvad Gita and wondered how this call to duty and actions was called by left wingers as promoting "fatalist and defeatist mindset". I saw how great men read the gita and it inspired them to fight like a tigress (yes. tigress) defending her cubs.
Arun shourie delivers a jaw-breaking punch in the face of indian historians who have been driven by their agenda of de-legitimizing hindu cultural traditions and turning India into a left-communist state (however unsuccessful they may have been) . He also gives proof of their own under-the table dealings . His scholarship is rigorous as was his journalism . Like in the west , the left undermines the family , the society's control over individuals etc so that they can satisfy "THE THEORY" , as shourie calls it. The theory , of course refers to the marx-engels-lenin-stalin stupidity in which only the "manifesto" is the state religion .
The first 50 pages of the book are not so interesting , dealing with pilferage of funds etc , but it gets better . Layers of left wing drivel are analysed , stripped and then paraded for the reader to see. Their control of India's institutions is laid bare , and we can see how this left-Jawaharlal Nehru University conspiracy works . The left has no answers to shourie .
With the rise of cultural consciousness and the right wing in India like never before , driven in part by the cultural colonialism of the west through media , this is a must read for all hindus and even truth-loving non hindus .
The 5 stars are for shourie's mental and moral strength and his fight for the truth .
I read the Bhagvad Gita and wondered how this call to duty and actions was called by left wingers as promoting "fatalist and defeatist mindset". I saw how great men read the gita and it inspired them to fight like a tigress (yes. tigress) defending her cubs.
Arun shourie delivers a jaw-breaking punch in the face of indian historians who have been driven by their agenda of de-legitimizing hindu cultural traditions and turning India into a left-communist state (however unsuccessful they may have been) . He also gives proof of their own under-the table dealings . His scholarship is rigorous as was his journalism . Like in the west , the left undermines the family , the society's control over individuals etc so that they can satisfy "THE THEORY" , as shourie calls it. The theory , of course refers to the marx-engels-lenin-stalin stupidity in which only the "manifesto" is the state religion .
The first 50 pages of the book are not so interesting , dealing with pilferage of funds etc , but it gets better . Layers of left wing drivel are analysed , stripped and then paraded for the reader to see. Their control of India's institutions is laid bare , and we can see how this left-Jawaharlal Nehru University conspiracy works . The left has no answers to shourie .
With the rise of cultural consciousness and the right wing in India like never before , driven in part by the cultural colonialism of the west through media , this is a must read for all hindus and even truth-loving non hindus .
The 5 stars are for shourie's mental and moral strength and his fight for the truth .
July 25, 2019
Those who want to know why our history books are biased and distorted in schools and colleges should read this book.
April 18, 2019
When talking about our devatas shastra says do what they ask you to do, not what they themselves did. The same can be said about Arun Shourie :)
A masterpiece. Must read book.
A masterpiece. Must read book.
March 18, 2018
I have always been a history enthusiast since my childhood. I studied in a CBSE school and whatever forms the history syllabus in NCERT books is written from Delhi's perspective. Not only this, it is completely written from a Marxist view point. I live in Karnataka and I'm a Kannadiga by ethncity. However, there was hardly anything about Karnataka's history in my textbooks. Marxist historians used public institutions like the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) to propagate their ideology and impose their views on the common people. These details have been presented brilliantly by Arun Shourie in this book. He has also provided facts and it is quite clear for everyone to see.
Shourie provides an excellent comparison between Indian Marxist historians and the Soviet historians. The Soviet historians despite being Communists have written admirably about Indian history and there is no prejudice in their accounts. Their writings up to 20th century are remarkably good in the author's opinion. In contrast, the Indian Marxists have an inherent prejudice which is due to the fact that they are not just Marxists, they are Maculuayists too as the author has brilliantly pointed out.
If you ever feel that you have not actually studied Indian history in your school and want to know the reasons for it, then this book is a must for you. Highly recommended for those who want to do a genuine study of Indian history.
Shourie provides an excellent comparison between Indian Marxist historians and the Soviet historians. The Soviet historians despite being Communists have written admirably about Indian history and there is no prejudice in their accounts. Their writings up to 20th century are remarkably good in the author's opinion. In contrast, the Indian Marxists have an inherent prejudice which is due to the fact that they are not just Marxists, they are Maculuayists too as the author has brilliantly pointed out.
If you ever feel that you have not actually studied Indian history in your school and want to know the reasons for it, then this book is a must for you. Highly recommended for those who want to do a genuine study of Indian history.
March 9, 2019
It is amusing that the review with highest “likes” gave Eminent Historians a measly two stars. Besides accusing Mr. Shourie of bigotry and fundamentalism, this particular reviewer notes that despite producing “an impressive array of documentary evidence”, Mr. Shourie is quite ill-informed and prejudiced, because he is pushing a very specific agenda here. Curiously enough, the reviewer does not offer an iota of evidence or explanation to support his accusations.
I dare say there is some (read: much) truth to Mr. Shourie’s claims:
In other words, if you can't refute them, attack them.
And how are Marxists going to refute Shourie? Refuting him would entail refuting thousands of years of textual evidence, edicts, archaeological findings, past ... and present too. Refuting him would mean that they defend a system that has failed, and failed spectacularly, in every country. Their weapon - the rhetoric of 'must be', 'it appears so', 'it would seem' - is going to dissipate like a child's sandcastle when confronted with hard evidence.
But clinging to outdated modes of thinking and interpretation is not the only sin of the Marxist brand of historiography. Not by a long shot. They have corrupted ICHR, and made it inept and unaccountable. They have indulged in plagiarism, and then tried to cover it. They have been openly flouting national laws for God knows how long. They have whitewashed historical narratives to suit their own political agendas.
Truth can't be hidden for long, and Shourie's book is only the first step.
I dare say there is some (read: much) truth to Mr. Shourie’s claims:
Mockery, derision, scorn, the charge of conspiracy, of secret funds being pumped in by unnamed forces, the charge that the critic is privilege personified and therefore cannot stand the fact that, because of the struggles put up by the Left, the masses are coming into their own – an avalanche to scare everyone from doing what this fellow has done. The argument would be similar to say, “When did you last stop beating your wife?”
In other words, if you can't refute them, attack them.
And how are Marxists going to refute Shourie? Refuting him would entail refuting thousands of years of textual evidence, edicts, archaeological findings, past ... and present too. Refuting him would mean that they defend a system that has failed, and failed spectacularly, in every country. Their weapon - the rhetoric of 'must be', 'it appears so', 'it would seem' - is going to dissipate like a child's sandcastle when confronted with hard evidence.
But clinging to outdated modes of thinking and interpretation is not the only sin of the Marxist brand of historiography. Not by a long shot. They have corrupted ICHR, and made it inept and unaccountable. They have indulged in plagiarism, and then tried to cover it. They have been openly flouting national laws for God knows how long. They have whitewashed historical narratives to suit their own political agendas.
Truth can't be hidden for long, and Shourie's book is only the first step.
October 19, 2016
Does the modern liberals hate Hindus and demean our scriptures right from the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Upanishads and Hindu philosophy ? Then, who is to blame? Does all these secular changes were new to India? Does belittling Hinduism is the new phenomenon? From where does these set of people even come from? Those very answers lies in this exceptionally written book.
Arun Shourie the author turned politician has penned this epic rebuttal to those intellectual terrorists and demagogues and ripped apart their lies that they peddled for nearly 4 decades. Communism is not new in India, in fact, the communists supporters are prospering in India since its inception till today. But they do it openly. But, how about those so called intellectuals and historians who subvert the very history of India to please their masters and doing more damage to the national prosperity? Arun Shourie has addressed the very same issue in this book titled Eminent Historians.
The first few pages of the book doesn't seems quite interesting as there only figures of the money that these eminent historians took to complete their writing projects at the expense of tax payers. Shourie has tabulated all those details of each individual who are making a moolah by doing nothing. The scores of these historians are in the likes of Irfan habib, R.S Sharma, Bipan Chandra, Lal, Panikkar, Romila Thapar, Anand, and so on. These people were adorning the highest chairs of Universities in this country and are helping to nurture their proteges by imbibing the same communist ideologies in their pupils. These historians have took all the advantage of government to write something real, but all they did was to subvert the very basic foundations of this country.
As the book progresses further, we get to see from the example of West Bengal government's action plan of editing the history text books for school children. As per accounts exposed by Shourie, all those crimes and robberies committed by the Islamic invaders was deleted from the books at the orders of their existing government at that time. Instead, kids were taught how intolerant that the Hindus and Hindu religion is. There is not an iota of doubt that, the communist champions were the brain behind these.
This is just an example from the book. You get to read many such cringe worthy details of these communist authors that went ahead and tried to paint a bad image of Hindustan. Shourie emphasizes the fact that, even Russian authors are fair enough in their writings than these communist eminent historians of India. These communist historians are peddling lies after lies and worshiping the likes of Mao, Stalin, Engels, etc.. These are gods and flag bearers of social justice.
Shourie further exposes the lies of those authors who claims that the Hinduism is a new 19th century British created movement and there was no real Hindu religion at all. These authors goes a step ahead to celebrate Jainism and Buddhism. They also mention that, Hinduism has targeted the Buddhists and Jains in India that resulted in the decline of these religion in India. But, they forgot to mention the attacks perpetrated by the Islamic invaders who pillaged the country and ransacked their monasteries. Author has exhumed the truth by giving the right references for each of their lies and exposed them brilliantly.
I guess, more Indians should read this book to understand why there is liberal movement in today's India? Why there is an uproar of modern secularism? Why the universities like JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) is breeding anti-nationals in their campuses? Why there are no real historians remained in this country that could teach the real Indian history to its people? And, finally, why this new generation of students who remain closed to the arguments and research, but, believe in the books offered by our governments as curriculum?
The book overall exhumes the truth in the subtle way. There are few section of people who argue that, Arun Shourie has written this book to settle personal scores and animosities with these authors. But, it is not. Try being rational and open up to the arguments presented by the author. It is really an important book for everyone. A collectors gem. Highly recommended.
Arun Shourie the author turned politician has penned this epic rebuttal to those intellectual terrorists and demagogues and ripped apart their lies that they peddled for nearly 4 decades. Communism is not new in India, in fact, the communists supporters are prospering in India since its inception till today. But they do it openly. But, how about those so called intellectuals and historians who subvert the very history of India to please their masters and doing more damage to the national prosperity? Arun Shourie has addressed the very same issue in this book titled Eminent Historians.
The first few pages of the book doesn't seems quite interesting as there only figures of the money that these eminent historians took to complete their writing projects at the expense of tax payers. Shourie has tabulated all those details of each individual who are making a moolah by doing nothing. The scores of these historians are in the likes of Irfan habib, R.S Sharma, Bipan Chandra, Lal, Panikkar, Romila Thapar, Anand, and so on. These people were adorning the highest chairs of Universities in this country and are helping to nurture their proteges by imbibing the same communist ideologies in their pupils. These historians have took all the advantage of government to write something real, but all they did was to subvert the very basic foundations of this country.
As the book progresses further, we get to see from the example of West Bengal government's action plan of editing the history text books for school children. As per accounts exposed by Shourie, all those crimes and robberies committed by the Islamic invaders was deleted from the books at the orders of their existing government at that time. Instead, kids were taught how intolerant that the Hindus and Hindu religion is. There is not an iota of doubt that, the communist champions were the brain behind these.
This is just an example from the book. You get to read many such cringe worthy details of these communist authors that went ahead and tried to paint a bad image of Hindustan. Shourie emphasizes the fact that, even Russian authors are fair enough in their writings than these communist eminent historians of India. These communist historians are peddling lies after lies and worshiping the likes of Mao, Stalin, Engels, etc.. These are gods and flag bearers of social justice.
Shourie further exposes the lies of those authors who claims that the Hinduism is a new 19th century British created movement and there was no real Hindu religion at all. These authors goes a step ahead to celebrate Jainism and Buddhism. They also mention that, Hinduism has targeted the Buddhists and Jains in India that resulted in the decline of these religion in India. But, they forgot to mention the attacks perpetrated by the Islamic invaders who pillaged the country and ransacked their monasteries. Author has exhumed the truth by giving the right references for each of their lies and exposed them brilliantly.
I guess, more Indians should read this book to understand why there is liberal movement in today's India? Why there is an uproar of modern secularism? Why the universities like JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) is breeding anti-nationals in their campuses? Why there are no real historians remained in this country that could teach the real Indian history to its people? And, finally, why this new generation of students who remain closed to the arguments and research, but, believe in the books offered by our governments as curriculum?
The book overall exhumes the truth in the subtle way. There are few section of people who argue that, Arun Shourie has written this book to settle personal scores and animosities with these authors. But, it is not. Try being rational and open up to the arguments presented by the author. It is really an important book for everyone. A collectors gem. Highly recommended.
May 9, 2015
But, for a few good men like Arun Shourie, Sita Ram Goel, S L Bhyrappa generations of Indians would have grown up to hate themselves, their forefathers and their heritage. They form the intellectual backbone of what is derisively called as the 'Right wing'. But it is indeed 'Right'. Their stupendous capabilities have unfortunately been spent on reiterating, researching and dismantling the artifice of falsehoods built by the "Macaulay, Missionary and Marx" guilds in India.
Arun Shourie in this book has done a immensely useful service to the silent masses of India by detailing the blueprints, plans and other devices successfully used by the so called 'Eminent Historians'.
Being close to a few academic communities in various capacities, I have indeed gained a first hand experience as to the ways of mass propaganda and delusions created by these guilds.
It is imperative upon the free thinking, liberal and intellectually driven people of India to make amends. To realize that the path laid by these 'Eminent Historians' eventually lead nowhere and to read and guide their immediate society.
Arun Shourie in this book has done a immensely useful service to the silent masses of India by detailing the blueprints, plans and other devices successfully used by the so called 'Eminent Historians'.
Being close to a few academic communities in various capacities, I have indeed gained a first hand experience as to the ways of mass propaganda and delusions created by these guilds.
It is imperative upon the free thinking, liberal and intellectually driven people of India to make amends. To realize that the path laid by these 'Eminent Historians' eventually lead nowhere and to read and guide their immediate society.
January 20, 2021
A must read for every Indian to understand how the Marxist historians distorted the Indian history to denigrate Hinduism and appease the foreign religions. Its an interesting read too, well researched with lots of references. Everyone should read and understand this
April 28, 2015
If you are interested in Education & how politics has affected and twisted Educational Policies in India, this book is must read.
October 31, 2009
A veil burner, exposing the ill-intentioned mop up by Indian historians (so-called). Medieval history of India from the court of medieval kings. If a journalist can do this much of hard work, I wonder what stops people doing all sorts of PhD's, from exploring this fraud. Would love to read a real in-detail historical analysis of the "facts" presented by Mr Shourie.
Can not give it 5 though as some portion of the book feels like Mr. Shourie settling score with leftist journalists. Also, the book can evoke religious undertones if not read from the perspective of "history is history". So take a deep breath before opening up the book.
Can not give it 5 though as some portion of the book feels like Mr. Shourie settling score with leftist journalists. Also, the book can evoke religious undertones if not read from the perspective of "history is history". So take a deep breath before opening up the book.
July 1, 2020
This is a masterpiece by Arun Shourie. A must read.
September 18, 2014
History writing has been a complex enterprise in India. The first fifty years following Independence in 1947 has seen "influential" historians who have contributed nothing but falsehoods. "Eminent Historians" by Sri. Arun Shourie is an incisive commentary at portraying how historians have succeeded in doctoring history, capturing institutions and promoting themselves. The book maps the ways in which our history textbooks have been doctored by such "influential" historians. There is no doubt that India's historical narrative has always been mixed and this book reveals facets which examine the perversion in India's public discourse. Thoroughly researched and with a riveting narration, the book brings to light various techniques adopted by some of our best known academicians have used to promote themselves and to acquire control over institutions Then, we talk about putting academic institutions to use. "Eminent Historians" by Sri Arun Shourie is an important book which is still relevant. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in India's history and an a stake in its future.
February 6, 2020
What will you do if you intend to brainwash generations........get into the business of defining, writing and reinventing history! This is business because eminent historians started to sell their view point and their "theory" through history writing. The book talks about these historians and their writings and their academic feudalism and how they marched forward even with the inherent inconsistencies in their interpretations of history.
April 9, 2017
Very important book that should be read for the gravity of the situation it tries to address .
This book as I view is a critique of using Marxist theory or for that matter any theory as a lens to analyse the ancient history of India. How the facts in Indian history have been tweaked to conform with 'Marxist ideas' which are held as gospel truths by our much revered historians is the basis on which author builds up the narrative. Also the idea that Hinduism as a unified religion came into existence only due to British imperialism is vehemently opposed by the author. The author also exposes the hypocrisy of so called eminent historians when they try to view the loots and destruction of temples under mughal rule as result of an individual's fault(Aurangzeb) rather than viewing it as a religion driven hatred while doing the exact opposite in case of small violent incidents found in cases involving Hinduism.
The tone throughout the book is sarcastic and honestly funny at times. Now while some may argue that this diatribe is a Hindu apologist's revenge against 'secular' historians I view it as a thorough well researched refutation of the arguments that were built upon a disproved theory only to taint the world's oldest religion.
This book as I view is a critique of using Marxist theory or for that matter any theory as a lens to analyse the ancient history of India. How the facts in Indian history have been tweaked to conform with 'Marxist ideas' which are held as gospel truths by our much revered historians is the basis on which author builds up the narrative. Also the idea that Hinduism as a unified religion came into existence only due to British imperialism is vehemently opposed by the author. The author also exposes the hypocrisy of so called eminent historians when they try to view the loots and destruction of temples under mughal rule as result of an individual's fault(Aurangzeb) rather than viewing it as a religion driven hatred while doing the exact opposite in case of small violent incidents found in cases involving Hinduism.
The tone throughout the book is sarcastic and honestly funny at times. Now while some may argue that this diatribe is a Hindu apologist's revenge against 'secular' historians I view it as a thorough well researched refutation of the arguments that were built upon a disproved theory only to taint the world's oldest religion.
September 7, 2014
This book would have been more relevant 15 years ago when communism was more prevalent. Today communism is but almost out of Indian politics with no real hold in any geographic location of India. The author does over burden the reader with facts, excerpts from various sources, quotes from historians that it feels like you are reading a thesis than a book. Often I was confused as to whether it was the author narrating or was it the quote from a speech from a historian.
But having said all that its a must read, to understand how the Indian history has been left mutilated by the "eminences" as the author mockingly calls these historians. It is interesting to see the methods and devices used by the historians/communists to subvert, alter, conjure history and through repetition make a half baked theory as real facts. Arun Shourie does overwhelm you with the list of citations in this book, but that did not deviate me from understanding the underlying message on how eminent historians have peddled lies and grossly ridiculed our history.
But having said all that its a must read, to understand how the Indian history has been left mutilated by the "eminences" as the author mockingly calls these historians. It is interesting to see the methods and devices used by the historians/communists to subvert, alter, conjure history and through repetition make a half baked theory as real facts. Arun Shourie does overwhelm you with the list of citations in this book, but that did not deviate me from understanding the underlying message on how eminent historians have peddled lies and grossly ridiculed our history.
August 26, 2015
A brilliant book by Arun Shourie. Although first published in 1998, it is as relevant now as it was then. Shourie correctly nails the lies that the "eminent" Marxist Historians have been peddling through their hold on institutions as Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). He also exposes their doouble speak on matters relating to ancient India, the Islamic rule in India, and matters relating to Hinduism in general. This book is a must read for everyone who cares about our National Identity, our true history and the hypocrisy of the so called intellectuals.
April 13, 2025
#আগে পড়া বইয়ের পুনর্পাঠ।
বিধিবদ্ধ সতর্কীকরণ : আমি সুশীল নই। হওয়ার ইচ্ছাটুকু নেই। আমি এমন একটা স্পেসে রয়েছি যেখানে আমার গলাটা টিপে ধরে রয়েছে কেউ ;
ভূমিকা: ইতিহাসের উপরে লুকনো ছুরি:
"History is written by the victors" — এই বহুল ব্যবহৃত বাক্যটির অন্তরালে যে রাজনীতি, ক্ষমতা ও বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিক কারসাজির গল্প থাকে, তার এক নির্মম উন্মোচন ঘটেছে অরুণ শৌরির Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Line, Their Fraud বইটিতে। এই বই মূলত ভারতে বামপন্থী ইতিহাসবিদদের (বিশেষত দিল্লি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ও JNU-র সাথে যুক্ত) দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি, পদ্ধতি এবং উদ্দেশ্যকে কঠোরভাবে সমালোচনা করে। এটি শুধু একটি গ্রন্থ নয়, বরং একটি আত্মপক্ষ সমর্থনের রাজনৈতিক বিবৃতি, একটি ঐতিহাসিক চ্যালেঞ্জ।
গ্রন্থের সারমর্ম: ইতিহাসের নামে প্রতারণা
শৌরির এই বইটি 1998 সালে প্রকাশিত হয়, যেখানে তিনি ভারতের তথাকথিত 'প্রখ্যাত' ইতিহাসবিদদের বিরুদ্ধে গুরুতর অভিযোগ তোলেন—বিশেষ করে Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Bipan Chandra প্রমুখের বিরুদ্ধে। তার দাবি, এই ইতিহাসবিদরা ইতিহাসচর্চাকে একপ্রকার "Leftist propaganda"-র হাতিয়ার করে তুলেছেন। তারা Mughal শাসনের সময়কালে সংঘটিত হিন্দুদের উপর নির্যাতন, মন্দির ধ্বংস, ও ধর্মীয় বৈষম্যের ঘটনাগুলিকে ইচ্ছাকৃতভাবে এড়িয়ে গেছেন বা খণ্ডন করেছেন।
শৌরি অভিযোগ করেন যে, এই ইতিহাসবিদরা সরকারি অনুদান ও পাঠ্যক্রম নিয়ন্ত্রণের ক্ষমতার অপব্যবহার করেছেন। এমনকি NCERT ও ICHR-এর মতো প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলোতে বামপন্থীদের একচেটিয়া আধিপত্য ছিল এবং তারা primary source বা মূল ঐতিহাসিক তথ্যের পরিবর্তে ideological narrative তৈরি করেছেন।
মূল অভিযোগসমূহ বিশ্লেষণ:
১. Selective Presentation of Facts: শৌরি দেখান কিভাবে ইতিহাসবিদরা আলাউদ্দিন খিলজি, তুঘলক বা আওরঙ্গজেবের হিন্দু নির্যাতন বা মন্দির ধ্বংসের ঘটনাগুলিকে ‘রাজনৈতিক উদ্দেশ্যে’ বলে ক্ষুদ্রায়িত করেছেন।
"Suppressio veri, suggestio falsi" – (ল্যাটিন)
“Suppressing the truth and suggesting the false.”
শৌরির মতে, এটাই এই তথাকথিত প্রখ্যাত ইতিহাসবিদদের প্রধান 'Technology'।
২. Intellectual Cartelization: তথ্যচর্চার ক্ষেত্রে 'মতাদর্শগত গোষ্ঠীবদ্ধতা' তৈরি করে একমুখী বর্ণনার দৌরাত্ম্য চালানো হয়েছে।
“Itihāsaḥ pramāṇaṃ satyam” – (সংস্কৃত)
“History is valid only when it upholds truth.”
– কিন্তু সত্য এখানে 'সুবিধামতো' সাজানো হয়েছে, দাবী করেন শৌরি।
৩. Textbook Manipulation: NCERT পাঠ্যবইতে ইতিহাস এমনভাবে উপস্থাপিত হয়েছে যাতে ছাত্রছাত্রীরা ভারতীয় ইতিহাসের নির্দিষ্ট অধ্যায় সম্পর্কে ‘ক্ষোভহীন’ থাকে। তার মতে, এর ফলে একটি ‘ঐতিহাসিক মগজধোলাই’ হয়েছে।
"আমার ইতিহাসে শুধু আলো নেই, ছায়াও আছে। তুমি শুধু আলো দেখাও, তাই আমার চোখ ধাঁধিয়ে যায়।"
— সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায় (আংশিক পুনর্গঠন সহ)
শৌরির মতে, এই একপাক্ষিক ইতিহাসচর্চা দেশকে তার ঐতিহাসিক সত্য থেকে বিচ্যুত করেছে।
শৈলীর দিক থেকে মূল্যায়ন:
শৌরির লেখার ভাষা শাণিত, তীক্ষ্ণ, এবং প্রায় যুদ্ধঘোষণার মতো। তিনি প্রচুর নথিপত্র, সরকারি রিপোর্ট, এবং ইতিহাসবিদদের নিজস্ব লেখার উদ্ধৃতি দিয়ে তাদের বিরুদ্ধেই তাদের কথাকে ব্যবহার করেছেন। কিন্তু, তাঁর নিজস্ব পক্ষপাতিত্বও ধরা পড়ে। শৌরি একজন সাংবাদিক ও প্রাক্তন মন্ত্রী—তাঁর দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি একটি নির্দিষ্ট রাজনৈতিক মতাদর্শ দ্বারা প্রভাবিত, যা পাঠক বুঝতে পারবেন।
তবে শৌরির কৃতিত্ব এখানেই যে, তিনি ইতিহাসের বিতর্ককে সাধারণ পাঠকের সামনে আনার সাহস দেখিয়েছেন, এবং একটি দীর্ঘদিনের intellectual monopoly-র বিপরীতে প্রশ্ন তুলেছেন।
সমালোচনার জবাব ও প্রতিক্রিয়া: এই বইটি প্রকাশের পর, একাধিক ইতিহাসবিদ এটিকে "conspiracy theory", "unscholarly polemic", ও "right-wing propaganda" বলে উড়িয়ে দেন। Romila Thapar বলেন, "This book is more interested in discrediting people than engaging with history."
তবে এমনও অনেকে ছিলেন যাঁরা বইটির বিশ্লেষণ ও সাহসিকতাকে স্বাগত জানান। তাঁদের মতে, এই বই না হলে ভারতের ইতিহাসচর্চায় একঘেয়েমি ও মতাদর্শিক গাঁটছড়া চিরকাল চাপা থাকত।
উপসংহার: ইতিহাসের পাঠ ও পাঠকের দায়িত্ব
"Eminent Historians" একটি সমালোচনামূলক বই — কখনো ন্যায্য, কখনো প্রগলভ, কখনো তীব্র, কখনো পক্ষপাতদুষ্ট। কিন্তু এর সবচেয়ে বড় অবদান হল “debunking the myth of neutrality”— অর্থাৎ যে ইতিহাসপাঠ সবসময় নিরপেক্ষ, তা এক মিথ। ইতিহাস আসলে একটি "contested terrain", যেখানে ক্ষমতা ও বর্ণনার মধ্যে যুদ্ধ চলে।
“যে ইতিহাস ভোলাতে চায়, সে ইতিহাস আবার ফিরে আসে অন্য নামে।”
— কথাসাহিত্যিক অতীন বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়
"Historia magistra vitae est" – (ল্যাটিন)
“History is the teacher of life.”
– যদি সে বিকৃত না হয়।
এই বই, তার সমস্ত বিতর্ক ও দোষত্রুটি সত্ত্বেও, পাঠককে ইতিহাসচর্চার নৈতিক ও বৌদ্ধিক দায়িত্ব নিয়ে ভাবতে বাধ্য করে।
আমরা যদি সত্যিকারের ইতিহাস চাই, তাহলে আমাদের দরকার বহুপাক্ষিক আলোচনা, আলোচনার স্বাধীনতা, এবং ইতিহাসবিদদের উপর সচেতন নজরদারি। কারণ,
"ইতিহাস চাপা পড়লে ভবিষ্যৎ বিপন্ন হয়।"
ইচ্ছা করলে এই পাঠপ্রতিক্রিয়াকে আরও একাডেমিক রূপ দিতে পারি, বা তুলনামূলকভাবে রোমিলা থাপারের লেখার সঙ্গে মিলিয়ে বিশ্লেষণ করেও দেখতে পারি। আগ্রহ থাকলে বলো!
শেষের পরেও যা না বললেই নয়:
এবার আমরা এই পাঠপ্রতিক্রিয়াটিকে আর একটু গভীর, একাডেমিক এবং তুলনামূলক বিশ্লেষণের দিকে নিয়ে যাই, যেন এটি গবেষণাপত্র বা নাট্যগ্রন্থের রেফারেন্স হিসেবেও কাজে লাগে। আমরা এবার তুলনা করব Romila Thapar-এর ইতিহাসচর্চার ধারা ও Arun Shourie-র যুক্তিপদ্ধতির মধ্যে মৌলিক পার্থক্যগুলি, কিছু দর্শনচিন্তা ও ইতিহাসতত্ত্বের আলোকে।
তুলনামূলক পাঠবিশ্লেষণ: শৌরি বনাম থাপার — ইতিহাসের দুই ধারার দ্বন্দ্ব
১. ইতিহাসবোধ ও পদ্ধতি (Epistemology of History)
Romila Thapar:
*ইতিহাসকে দেখেন মূলত materialist এবং socio-economic কাঠামোর ভিতর দিয়ে।
*তাঁকে ভারতে Marxist historiography-এর প্রবক্তাদের অন্যতম বলে গণ্য করা হয়।
*তাঁর মতে, ইতিহাসে রাজনীতি, ধর্ম বা সংস্কৃতি নয়, উৎপাদন সম্পর্ক ও শ্রেণি-সংঘাত বড় নিয়ামক।
(“Past is not a repository of facts, it is a set of interpretations.” – Thapar
Arun Shourie:
*শৌরি ইতিহাসকে দেখেন আত্মপরিচয়, ন্যায় ও স্মৃতির উৎস হিসেবে।
*তিনি 'interpretation'-এর চেয়ে বেশি গুরুত্ব দেন “truth-telling”-এ।
*তাঁর মতে, ইতিহাসবিদদের কাজ হল "কোনো পক্ষের হয়ে তথ্য চেপে যাওয়া নয়, বরং ইতিহাসের কঠোর সত্য জনসমক্ষে তুলে ধরা।"
("You cannot build the future of a civilization on fabrications about its past." – Shourie
২. ধর্ম ও ইতিহাস: একটি সূক্ষ্ম যুদ্ধক্ষেত্র:
Thapar-এর দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি:
তিনি ধর্মীয় সংঘাতকে political expediency হিসেবে ব্যাখ্যা করেন।
আওরঙ্গজেব, মহম্মদ ঘোরি বা বাবর-দের ধর্মীয় অত্যাচারকে তিনি বৃহত্তর রাজনৈতিক প্রেক্ষাপটে দেখেন।
উদাহরণস্বরূপ, আওরঙ্গজেবের মন্দির ধ্বংসকে তিনি “rebellion suppression” হিসেবে ব্যাখ্যা করেছেন।
Shourie-এর যুক্তি:
শৌরি বলেন, এই ব্যাখ্যাগুলি 'whitewashing'।
তিনি প্রমাণ-সহ দেখানোর চেষ্টা করেন যে মন্দির ধ্বংস, জিজিয়া কর, হিন্দু ধর্মান্তরণ—সবই ধর্মপ্রাণ মৌলবাদী রাষ্ট্রনীতির অংশ ছিল।
"Those who were not Muslims were declared kafirs, and kafirs were either to convert, be taxed, or perish." – Shourie quoting historical sources
৩. পাঠ্যক্রম নির্মাণ: সত্য না কি কৌশল?
Romila Thapar ছিলেন ২০০৫ সালের NCERT textbook revision committee-র প্রধান পরামর্শদাতা। সেই সময়কার পাঠ্যবইগুলিতে ইসলামি শাসনকালকে এমনভাবে উপস্থাপন করা হয় যাতে শিক্ষার্থীদের মধ্যে ‘ধর্মভিত্তিক ঘৃণা’ না জন্মায়।
Shourie বলেন, এটি 'sanitization of history', যা ভবিষ্যৎ প্রজন্মকে ইতিহাসের প্রকৃত জ্ঞান থেকে বঞ্চিত করে।
"To heal, one must first know where the wound is." — এই কথাটির নিরিখে শৌরির বক্তব্য, ইতিহাসের জখমকে লুকিয়ে রাখলে ঘা সারবে না, বরং পচে যাবে।
৪. ইতিহাস বনাম মতাদর্শ (Ideology vs Integrity)
"The first casualty of ideology is intellectual honesty." — অজ্ঞাত
এই উক্তি দিয়ে আমরা বুঝি, মতাদর্শ যখন ইতিহাসের পথপ্রদর্শক হয়, তখন সত্য পথ হারায়।
শৌরি এই গ্রন্থে এক ভয়ানক অভিযোগ এনেছেন — ইতিহাসচর্চা একটি 'closed circuit of ideological funding and rewards' হয়ে গেছে, যেখানে "correct line"-এর বাইরে চিন্তা করলেই আপনি 'communal' বলে গালি খাবেন।
Thapar পক্ষের যুক্তি, তাঁরা কেবল inclusive history বা composite culture-এর দিকেই জোর দেন।
উপসংহার: পঠনপ্রতিক্রিয়ার সারকথা:
Eminent Historians বইটি শুধু একটি বামপন্থাবিরোধী হট্টগোল নয়—এটি ভারতের ইতিহাসবোধ, রাষ্ট্রচিন্তা ও শিক্ষার উপর এক তীব্র প্রতিক্রিয়া। Romila Thapar এর মত ইতিহাসবিদদের সঙ্গে দ্বিমত থাকা মানেই 'অজ্ঞেয়বাদ' নয়, বরং এটি ইতিহাসচর্চার জন্যই জরুরি একটি “dialectical exercise”।
পরিশেষ: পাঠকের ভূমিকা
আপনি যদি একজন ইতিহাসপ্রেমী হন, এই বই আপনাকে বিতর্কিত, অস্বস্তিকর, কিন্তু প্রয়োজনীয় প্রশ্নের মুখোমুখি দাঁড় করাবে। আপনি যদি নাট্যকার হন (যেমন আপনি এখন হচ্ছেন), তবে এই বইটি আপনাকে "ইতিহাসকে মঞ্চে কীভাবে জীবন্ত করা যায়" সে দিকেও ভাবাবে।
“সময় যতই চলে যাক, ইতিহাস তার হিসেব রাখে।” — নাট্যকার বাদল সরকার
একজন নমস্য বামপন্থীর উক্তি দিয়েই বক্তব্য শেষ করলাম।
বিধিবদ্ধ সতর্কীকরণ : আমি সুশীল নই। হওয়ার ইচ্ছাটুকু নেই। আমি এমন একটা স্পেসে রয়েছি যেখানে আমার গলাটা টিপে ধরে রয়েছে কেউ ;
ভূমিকা: ইতিহাসের উপরে লুকনো ছুরি:
"History is written by the victors" — এই বহুল ব্যবহৃত বাক্যটির অন্তরালে যে রাজনীতি, ক্ষমতা ও বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিক কারসাজির গল্প থাকে, তার এক নির্মম উন্মোচন ঘটেছে অরুণ শৌরির Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Line, Their Fraud বইটিতে। এই বই মূলত ভারতে বামপন্থী ইতিহাসবিদদের (বিশেষত দিল্লি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ও JNU-র সাথে যুক্ত) দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি, পদ্ধতি এবং উদ্দেশ্যকে কঠোরভাবে সমালোচনা করে। এটি শুধু একটি গ্রন্থ নয়, বরং একটি আত্মপক্ষ সমর্থনের রাজনৈতিক বিবৃতি, একটি ঐতিহাসিক চ্যালেঞ্জ।
গ্রন্থের সারমর্ম: ইতিহাসের নামে প্রতারণা
শৌরির এই বইটি 1998 সালে প্রকাশিত হয়, যেখানে তিনি ভারতের তথাকথিত 'প্রখ্যাত' ইতিহাসবিদদের বিরুদ্ধে গুরুতর অভিযোগ তোলেন—বিশেষ করে Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Bipan Chandra প্রমুখের বিরুদ্ধে। তার দাবি, এই ইতিহাসবিদরা ইতিহাসচর্চাকে একপ্রকার "Leftist propaganda"-র হাতিয়ার করে তুলেছেন। তারা Mughal শাসনের সময়কালে সংঘটিত হিন্দুদের উপর নির্যাতন, মন্দির ধ্বংস, ও ধর্মীয় বৈষম্যের ঘটনাগুলিকে ইচ্ছাকৃতভাবে এড়িয়ে গেছেন বা খণ্ডন করেছেন।
শৌরি অভিযোগ করেন যে, এই ইতিহাসবিদরা সরকারি অনুদান ও পাঠ্যক্রম নিয়ন্ত্রণের ক্ষমতার অপব্যবহার করেছেন। এমনকি NCERT ও ICHR-এর মতো প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলোতে বামপন্থীদের একচেটিয়া আধিপত্য ছিল এবং তারা primary source বা মূল ঐতিহাসিক তথ্যের পরিবর্তে ideological narrative তৈরি করেছেন।
মূল অভিযোগসমূহ বিশ্লেষণ:
১. Selective Presentation of Facts: শৌরি দেখান কিভাবে ইতিহাসবিদরা আলাউদ্দিন খিলজি, তুঘলক বা আওরঙ্গজেবের হিন্দু নির্যাতন বা মন্দির ধ্বংসের ঘটনাগুলিকে ‘রাজনৈতিক উদ্দেশ্যে’ বলে ক্ষুদ্রায়িত করেছেন।
"Suppressio veri, suggestio falsi" – (ল্যাটিন)
“Suppressing the truth and suggesting the false.”
শৌরির মতে, এটাই এই তথাকথিত প্রখ্যাত ইতিহাসবিদদের প্রধান 'Technology'।
২. Intellectual Cartelization: তথ্যচর্চার ক্ষেত্রে 'মতাদর্শগত গোষ্ঠীবদ্ধতা' তৈরি করে একমুখী বর্ণনার দৌরাত্ম্য চালানো হয়েছে।
“Itihāsaḥ pramāṇaṃ satyam” – (সংস্কৃত)
“History is valid only when it upholds truth.”
– কিন্তু সত্য এখানে 'সুবিধামতো' সাজানো হয়েছে, দাবী করেন শৌরি।
৩. Textbook Manipulation: NCERT পাঠ্যবইতে ইতিহাস এমনভাবে উপস্থাপিত হয়েছে যাতে ছাত্রছাত্রীরা ভারতীয় ইতিহাসের নির্দিষ্ট অধ্যায় সম্পর্কে ‘ক্ষোভহীন’ থাকে। তার মতে, এর ফলে একটি ‘ঐতিহাসিক মগজধোলাই’ হয়েছে।
"আমার ইতিহাসে শুধু আলো নেই, ছায়াও আছে। তুমি শুধু আলো দেখাও, তাই আমার চোখ ধাঁধিয়ে যায়।"
— সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায় (আংশিক পুনর্গঠন সহ)
শৌরির মতে, এই একপাক্ষিক ইতিহাসচর্চা দেশকে তার ঐতিহাসিক সত্য থেকে বিচ্যুত করেছে।
শৈলীর দিক থেকে মূল্যায়ন:
শৌরির লেখার ভাষা শাণিত, তীক্ষ্ণ, এবং প্রায় যুদ্ধঘোষণার মতো। তিনি প্রচুর নথিপত্র, সরকারি রিপোর্ট, এবং ইতিহাসবিদদের নিজস্ব লেখার উদ্ধৃতি দিয়ে তাদের বিরুদ্ধেই তাদের কথাকে ব্যবহার করেছেন। কিন্তু, তাঁর নিজস্ব পক্ষপাতিত্বও ধরা পড়ে। শৌরি একজন সাংবাদিক ও প্রাক্তন মন্ত্রী—তাঁর দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি একটি নির্দিষ্ট রাজনৈতিক মতাদর্শ দ্বারা প্রভাবিত, যা পাঠক বুঝতে পারবেন।
তবে শৌরির কৃতিত্ব এখানেই যে, তিনি ইতিহাসের বিতর্ককে সাধারণ পাঠকের সামনে আনার সাহস দেখিয়েছেন, এবং একটি দীর্ঘদিনের intellectual monopoly-র বিপরীতে প্রশ্ন তুলেছেন।
সমালোচনার জবাব ও প্রতিক্রিয়া: এই বইটি প্রকাশের পর, একাধিক ইতিহাসবিদ এটিকে "conspiracy theory", "unscholarly polemic", ও "right-wing propaganda" বলে উড়িয়ে দেন। Romila Thapar বলেন, "This book is more interested in discrediting people than engaging with history."
তবে এমনও অনেকে ছিলেন যাঁরা বইটির বিশ্লেষণ ও সাহসিকতাকে স্বাগত জানান। তাঁদের মতে, এই বই না হলে ভারতের ইতিহাসচর্চায় একঘেয়েমি ও মতাদর্শিক গাঁটছড়া চিরকাল চাপা থাকত।
উপসংহার: ইতিহাসের পাঠ ও পাঠকের দায়িত্ব
"Eminent Historians" একটি সমালোচনামূলক বই — কখনো ন্যায্য, কখনো প্রগলভ, কখনো তীব্র, কখনো পক্ষপাতদুষ্ট। কিন্তু এর সবচেয়ে বড় অবদান হল “debunking the myth of neutrality”— অর্থাৎ যে ইতিহাসপাঠ সবসময় নিরপেক্ষ, তা এক মিথ। ইতিহাস আসলে একটি "contested terrain", যেখানে ক্ষমতা ও বর্ণনার মধ্যে যুদ্ধ চলে।
“যে ইতিহাস ভোলাতে চায়, সে ইতিহাস আবার ফিরে আসে অন্য নামে।”
— কথাসাহিত্যিক অতীন বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়
"Historia magistra vitae est" – (ল্যাটিন)
“History is the teacher of life.”
– যদি সে বিকৃত না হয়।
এই বই, তার সমস্ত বিতর্ক ও দোষত্রুটি সত্ত্বেও, পাঠককে ইতিহাসচর্চার নৈতিক ও বৌদ্ধিক দায়িত্ব নিয়ে ভাবতে বাধ্য করে।
আমরা যদি সত্যিকারের ইতিহাস চাই, তাহলে আমাদের দরকার বহুপাক্ষিক আলোচনা, আলোচনার স্বাধীনতা, এবং ইতিহাসবিদদের উপর সচেতন নজরদারি। কারণ,
"ইতিহাস চাপা পড়লে ভবিষ্যৎ বিপন্ন হয়।"
ইচ্ছা করলে এই পাঠপ্রতিক্রিয়াকে আরও একাডেমিক রূপ দিতে পারি, বা তুলনামূলকভাবে রোমিলা থাপারের লেখার সঙ্গে মিলিয়ে বিশ্লেষণ করেও দেখতে পারি। আগ্রহ থাকলে বলো!
শেষের পরেও যা না বললেই নয়:
এবার আমরা এই পাঠপ্রতিক্রিয়াটিকে আর একটু গভীর, একাডেমিক এবং তুলনামূলক বিশ্লেষণের দিকে নিয়ে যাই, যেন এটি গবেষণাপত্র বা নাট্যগ্রন্থের রেফারেন্স হিসেবেও কাজে লাগে। আমরা এবার তুলনা করব Romila Thapar-এর ইতিহাসচর্চার ধারা ও Arun Shourie-র যুক্তিপদ্ধতির মধ্যে মৌলিক পার্থক্যগুলি, কিছু দর্শনচিন্তা ও ইতিহাসতত্ত্বের আলোকে।
তুলনামূলক পাঠবিশ্লেষণ: শৌরি বনাম থাপার — ইতিহাসের দুই ধারার দ্বন্দ্ব
১. ইতিহাসবোধ ও পদ্ধতি (Epistemology of History)
Romila Thapar:
*ইতিহাসকে দেখেন মূলত materialist এবং socio-economic কাঠামোর ভিতর দিয়ে।
*তাঁকে ভারতে Marxist historiography-এর প্রবক্তাদের অন্যতম বলে গণ্য করা হয়।
*তাঁর মতে, ইতিহাসে রাজনীতি, ধর্ম বা সংস্কৃতি নয়, উৎপাদন সম্পর্ক ও শ্রেণি-সংঘাত বড় নিয়ামক।
(“Past is not a repository of facts, it is a set of interpretations.” – Thapar
Arun Shourie:
*শৌরি ইতিহাসকে দেখেন আত্মপরিচয়, ন্যায় ও স্মৃতির উৎস হিসেবে।
*তিনি 'interpretation'-এর চেয়ে বেশি গুরুত্ব দেন “truth-telling”-এ।
*তাঁর মতে, ইতিহাসবিদদের কাজ হল "কোনো পক্ষের হয়ে তথ্য চেপে যাওয়া নয়, বরং ইতিহাসের কঠোর সত্য জনসমক্ষে তুলে ধরা।"
("You cannot build the future of a civilization on fabrications about its past." – Shourie
২. ধর্ম ও ইতিহাস: একটি সূক্ষ্ম যুদ্ধক্ষেত্র:
Thapar-এর দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি:
তিনি ধর্মীয় সংঘাতকে political expediency হিসেবে ব্যাখ্যা করেন।
আওরঙ্গজেব, মহম্মদ ঘোরি বা বাবর-দের ধর্মীয় অত্যাচারকে তিনি বৃহত্তর রাজনৈতিক প্রেক্ষাপটে দেখেন।
উদাহরণস্বরূপ, আওরঙ্গজেবের মন্দির ধ্বংসকে তিনি “rebellion suppression” হিসেবে ব্যাখ্যা করেছেন।
Shourie-এর যুক্তি:
শৌরি বলেন, এই ব্যাখ্যাগুলি 'whitewashing'।
তিনি প্রমাণ-সহ দেখানোর চেষ্টা করেন যে মন্দির ধ্বংস, জিজিয়া কর, হিন্দু ধর্মান্তরণ—সবই ধর্মপ্রাণ মৌলবাদী রাষ্ট্রনীতির অংশ ছিল।
"Those who were not Muslims were declared kafirs, and kafirs were either to convert, be taxed, or perish." – Shourie quoting historical sources
৩. পাঠ্যক্রম নির্মাণ: সত্য না কি কৌশল?
Romila Thapar ছিলেন ২০০৫ সালের NCERT textbook revision committee-র প্রধান পরামর্শদাতা। সেই সময়কার পাঠ্যবইগুলিতে ইসলামি শাসনকালকে এমনভাবে উপস্থাপন করা হয় যাতে শিক্ষার্থীদের মধ্যে ‘ধর্মভিত্তিক ঘৃণা’ না জন্মায়।
Shourie বলেন, এটি 'sanitization of history', যা ভবিষ্যৎ প্রজন্মকে ইতিহাসের প্রকৃত জ্ঞান থেকে বঞ্চিত করে।
"To heal, one must first know where the wound is." — এই কথাটির নিরিখে শৌরির বক্তব্য, ইতিহাসের জখমকে লুকিয়ে রাখলে ঘা সারবে না, বরং পচে যাবে।
৪. ইতিহাস বনাম মতাদর্শ (Ideology vs Integrity)
"The first casualty of ideology is intellectual honesty." — অজ্ঞাত
এই উক্তি দিয়ে আমরা বুঝি, মতাদর্শ যখন ইতিহাসের পথপ্রদর্শক হয়, তখন সত্য পথ হারায়।
শৌরি এই গ্রন্থে এক ভয়ানক অভিযোগ এনেছেন — ইতিহাসচর্চা একটি 'closed circuit of ideological funding and rewards' হয়ে গেছে, যেখানে "correct line"-এর বাইরে চিন্তা করলেই আপনি 'communal' বলে গালি খাবেন।
Thapar পক্ষের যুক্তি, তাঁরা কেবল inclusive history বা composite culture-এর দিকেই জোর দেন।
উপসংহার: পঠনপ্রতিক্রিয়ার সারকথা:
Eminent Historians বইটি শুধু একটি বামপন্থাবিরোধী হট্টগোল নয়—এটি ভারতের ইতিহাসবোধ, রাষ্ট্রচিন্তা ও শিক্ষার উপর এক তীব্র প্রতিক্রিয়া। Romila Thapar এর মত ইতিহাসবিদদের সঙ্গে দ্বিমত থাকা মানেই 'অজ্ঞেয়বাদ' নয়, বরং এটি ইতিহাসচর্চার জন্যই জরুরি একটি “dialectical exercise”।
পরিশেষ: পাঠকের ভূমিকা
আপনি যদি একজন ইতিহাসপ্রেমী হন, এই বই আপনাকে বিতর্কিত, অস্বস্তিকর, কিন্তু প্রয়োজনীয় প্রশ্নের মুখোমুখি দাঁড় করাবে। আপনি যদি নাট্যকার হন (যেমন আপনি এখন হচ্ছেন), তবে এই বইটি আপনাকে "ইতিহাসকে মঞ্চে কীভাবে জীবন্ত করা যায়" সে দিকেও ভাবাবে।
“সময় যতই চলে যাক, ইতিহাস তার হিসেব রাখে।” — নাট্যকার বাদল সরকার
একজন নমস্য বামপন্থীর উক্তি দিয়েই বক্তব্য শেষ করলাম।
December 9, 2021
a really well researched work on how the historical and political discourse in India has been hijacked by the left leaning intellectuals. Also provides sound reasoning for the co-opting/alliance between left, congress and so called socialist parties. There is telling commentary on the reasons for rise of socialist movement and close resemblance between islam, marxism and the like ideologies. A must read for anyone interested in Understanding contemporary indian history and get more objective lense to view India's past.
September 28, 2021
"To Historians is granted a talent that even the gods are denied – to alter what has already happened!"
I remembered this scornful saying when I finished this book. Arun Shourie has brilliantly exposed the likes of Ram Guha and Irfan Habib. How Mughal history was whitewashed and glorified and how we are taught false history to till day and any attempt of correcting the history is still resisted with the false accusation of "Saffronization of history".
The Nation that does not know her history has no future.
I remembered this scornful saying when I finished this book. Arun Shourie has brilliantly exposed the likes of Ram Guha and Irfan Habib. How Mughal history was whitewashed and glorified and how we are taught false history to till day and any attempt of correcting the history is still resisted with the false accusation of "Saffronization of history".
The Nation that does not know her history has no future.
June 14, 2015
If u pick up a book by any Indian historian, u will feel a sense of false equivalence, a sense of whitewashing of those who have ruled India in d past 700/800 years.
Arun Shourie, in his characteristic style, giving sources, exposes this cartel of historians and their tampering with history. However i had already read the superb novel Aavarana (veil) by Bhyrappa on this topic which is strongly recommended.
PS:- I am still unsure whether the brutal truths should be taught in schools.
Arun Shourie, in his characteristic style, giving sources, exposes this cartel of historians and their tampering with history. However i had already read the superb novel Aavarana (veil) by Bhyrappa on this topic which is strongly recommended.
PS:- I am still unsure whether the brutal truths should be taught in schools.
March 23, 2015
Good book. Shourie does present a lot of good factual data but sometimes he goes overboard with his own rhetoric. Although history is not something we should tamper with, I'm not really sure how prudent it is to teach young impressionable minds about hatred and violence which they bear no relation to.
March 13, 2016
Well researched. The approach used by the left wing academics on fabricating history is well presented. Interestingly, there is a warning to the right wing intellectuals not to repeat the follies of their left wing predecessors. Although the book is well written, it becomes a bit of n "overload" at times. Worth a read , if Indian History is of interest.
May 31, 2017
A must read to those who wonder how the left liberal intelligentsia held complete monopoly on the academia and consequently the thought process of an entire nation . Especially at this time when they feel they are being challenged and are resorting to fear mongering
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