Somanatha, the many voices of a history ebook, 2004. Nov 30, 2015 unfortunately, romila thapar does not spend much effort in throwing light on the particulars of the raid such as the route of ghaznis approach to somnath, the duration of his stay, the manner. University in 1999 on the somnath temple thereafter published by kali, which was integral to the. Punjabi family, spending her early years in various parts of india.
She is the author of several books including the popular volume, a history of india, and is currently professor emerita at jawaharlal nehru university jnu in new delhi. The hindu in the 1960s we were confident that the use of religion for political mobilisation would decline because nationalism, namely, the secular, allinclusive, anticolonialism nationalism that brought us independence, would, despite partition, be firmly established. Dec 27, 2011 eminent historian romila thapar has an agenda and a central character in her authoritative monograph on the highprofile temple at somnath in gujarat. Her historical work portrays the origins of hinduism as an evolving interplay between social forces. She has been offered the padma bhushan award twice but has declined it both times. Attack on somnath by ulug khan alauddin khalji edit the mlechchha asura stone breakers climbed up the shikhar of the temple and began to rain blows on the stone idols on all three sides by their hammers, the stone pieces falling all around. Asoka and the decline of the mauryas by romila thapar. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. History is generally not written by committees but by individual historians. Download pdf centre for communication and development studies. One of the modern scholars attempting to arrive at a new understanding of somnath is romila thapar, considered among indias most eminent historians. All information material available on this website or the links provided on the site are for educational and informational purposes only. Forging contemporary identities through history, aleph book company, new delhi, 2014, 326 pages, rs.
The many voices of a history verso 2005, thapar argues that the dominant view that mahmuds raid caused great psychological trauma to the hindu community is largely a. In 1969, members of the parliamentary consultative committee insisted that thapars textbook state categorically that aryans were indigenous to india. The book contains her essays and lectures of the period 19902016 in which secularism was made anathema by the. In 1983 she was elected general president of the indian history congress and in 1999 a corresponding fellow of the british academy. The penguin history of early india from the origins to ad 0. Mar 28, 2018 history is generally not written by committees but by individual historians. Romila thapar born 30 november 1931 is an indian historian whose principal area of study is ancient india. She is renowned for her careful scholarship on emperor asoka, epigraphy of mauryan period, and groundbreaking studies and multiple historiographies surrounding contested hindu and muslim history of somnath.
We hold no responsibility for any profit,loss or damage caused by or due to any information available on the site, either directly or indirectly. What his forces brought to india, however, turned out. The result is astounding and undermines the traditional version of what took place. Prof romila thapar on somnath temple and the story of shakuntala. Seagull books estd 1982 has been crafting books with an eye to both exceptional content and radical design. Playing politics with history somnath, rajendra chola and. Romila thapar was born in india in 1931 and comes from a. Unfortunately, romila thapar does not spend much effort in throwing light on the particulars of the raid such as the route of ghaznis approach to somnath, the duration of his stay, the manner. Romila thapar has brilliantly summarized the description of the same event. According to some writers, it has been seminal to antagonistic hindu. Reconstructed several times in the past after repeated destruction by several muslim invaders and rulers, the present temple was reconstructed in. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Jul 15, 2014 one of the modern scholars attempting to arrive at a new understanding of somnath is romila thapar, considered among indias most eminent historians. She wrote several books including the popular volume, a history of india, and is currently professor emerita at jawaharlal nehru university jnu in new delhi.
What is the truth about the somnath temple and mahmud of. Jul 16, 2017 before reading this book i had read somnatha the many voices of history by romila thapar. Romila thapar specializes in early indian history and is professor emerita in history at jawaharlal nehru university, new delhi. Before reading this book i had read somnatha the many voices of history by romila thapar. Playing politics with history somnath, rajendra chola. Before i get on to the public intellectual, let me just say that i have been disturbed like all of us have been disturbed, by not just what. The somnath temple located in prabhas patan near junagadh in saurashtra on the western coast of gujarat, india is believed to be the first among the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of shiva.
Romila thapar project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Ellenborough, historian romila thapar recorded, asked the british army in afghanistan to return via ghazni, bringing back the sandalwood gates of somnath that the medieval conqueror was believed to have taken away. Romila thapar is professor emeritus in history at jawaharlal nehru university, new delhi. Thapar points out that it was the british, who first used the embellished accounts of the turkopersian writers to make sultan mahmuds 1026 raid on the somanatha temple into an issue, in order to further their divideandrulepolicy in the subcontinent. A committee may be asked to assess what the historian has written. She is professor emerita of history at jawaharlal nehru university jnu in new delhi she is renowned for her careful scholarship on emperor asoka, epigraphy of mauryan period, and groundbreaking studies and multiple historiographies surrounding contested hindu and muslim history of somnath she not only embraced contemporary philosophical debates, producing a.
This can be readily discerned in the talks that she has been giving in the last two to three years. In this book ms thapar debunks the claim that mahmud ghazni destroyed the temple of somnath on grounds of religion and he attributes only economic reasons behind his raid. Prof romila thapar on somnath temple and the story of shakuntala in various texts part 10 hillele tv. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. The past as present romila thapar romila thapar, the past as present. Society and law in the hindu and buddhist traditions. History is an unending dialogue between the past and the. The temple, mahmud of ghazni, romila thapar and hating thapar from will durant to stanley wolpert, including hindu nationalists like k. Mahmuds raid on the temple of somanatha and the destruction of the idol has become an event of immense significance in the writing of.
That she has also been able to add an element of thrill and suspense in her narration, is also unparalleled. In 2008, the us library of congress named thapar a cowinner, with peter brown, of the kluge prize for the study of. What began highly risky business of publishing booksbooks on alternative cinema, philosophy, culturecontinues to be a passionately felt need of the hour. Ancient indian social history some interpretations romila. Romila thapar history and sources of somanatha temple. It is an anthology of essays that cover a wide array of topics. She points out that the relation between religion and politics has complex dimensions and institutions like temples, monasteries, mosques, khanqahs, churches, synagogues and gurudvaras have. Feb, 2015 prof romila thapar on somnath temple and the story of shakuntala in various texts part 10 hillele tv. The asiatic journal and monthly register for british india and its dependencies. In 1026, sultan mahmud of ghazni raided the hindu temple of somanatha somnath in textbooks of the colonial period. Romila thapar elected as member of american philosophical. Romila thapar ancient indian social history some interpretations ancient indian social history some interpretations romila thapar orient longman contents preface acknowledgements ix 1.
Romila thapar delivered a very interesting lecture at mumbai. Thapar completed her phd in the school of oriental and african studies at the university of london. History of early india from the origins to ad 0 author. Eminent historian romila thapar has an agenda and a central character in her authoritative monograph on the highprofile temple at somnath in gujarat. Romila thapar exhibits an immaculate defence of secularism and secularisation by way of explaining history and plurality therein. Inverting remembered history, thapar dismisses notions of hindu trauma over islamic iconoclasm as a laterday fabrication. The book contains her essays and lectures of the period 19902016 in which secularism was made anathema by the organised mossbacks for arrival of monotheism. Famous writer romila thapar elected as an international member of american philosophical society aps at its annual spring meeting she is emerita professor whose principal area of study is ancient india. Romila thapar has entered her 80s and the favourite historian of indian marxist circles and as well the feted and decorated icon of certain sections of the international scholarly jet set is now settling further into her dogmatic world view. Vijaya rajiva romila thapar has entered her 80s and the favourite historian of indian marxist circles and as well the feted and decorated icon of certain sections of the international scholarly jet. And as for the central dramatis persona, she does not even mention him. Romila thapar history books pdf download romila thapar. Romila thapars most popular book is the penguin history of early india.
The many voices of a history is an extremely important scholarly work thapar cautions against the use of the past to legitimise present concerns. In 1026, sultan mahmud of ghazni raided the hindu temple of somanatha somnath in textbooks. Munshi and the current crop of hindutva fundamentalists, identify the raid of mahmud of ghazni in 1026 ad and his desecration of the somanatha temple in gujarat as a event that left a traumatic. Romila thapar born 30 november 1931 is an indian historian as well as an emerita professor whose principal area of study is ancient india. History is not written by committees but by individual. She has offered new ways of writing the history of ancient india. Review of romila thapars somanatha, the many voices of a. Romila thapar romila thapar is regarded to be one of the preeminent and internationally acclaimed historian of india.
Society and law in the hindu and buddhist traditions 23. She tried to suggest in her article that history textbooks cannot be subject to the whims and fancies of political change. Romila thapar is an indian historian and professor emeritus at the jawaharlal nehru university, new delhi. The hindu in the 1960s we were confident that the use of religion for political mobilisation would decline because nationalism, namely, the secular, allinclusive, anticolonialism nationalism that brought us independence, would. According to some writers, it has been seminal to antagonistic hindumuslim relations over the last thousand years. It is an important pilgrimage and tourist spot of gujarat. In her new book, romila thapar, the doyenne of indian historians, reconstructs what took place by studying other sources, including local sanskrit inscriptions, biographies of kings and merchants of the period, court epics and popular narratives that have survived. Unfortunately, romila thapar does not spend much effort in throwing light on the particulars of the raid such as the route of ghaznis approach to somnath, the duration of. Prof romila thapar on somnath temple and the story of. About romila thapar romila thapar is an indian historian and professor emeritus at the jawaharlal nehru university, new delhi. Romila thapars somanatha, the many voices of a history penguin 2004, represents one such attempt to reinvent the past. Romila thapar born 30 november 1931 is a distinguished indian historian whose principal area of study is ancient india. Romila thapar history books pdf download romila thapar history.
Romila thapar, corecipient of the 2008 kluge prize thapars textbooks were published in the late 1960s and quickly sparked controversy. Romila thapar elected as a member of american philosophical. Romila thapar has 35 books on goodreads with 4555 ratings. She is professor emerita of history at jawaharlal nehru university jnu in new delhi. Essays in early indian history by romila thapar history archaeologyancientindia. For her contribution in the domain of history, she was honoured in 2008 with kluge prize, which is considered to be equivalent to nobel prize in social sciences. Historian romila thapars dogmas indian defence forum. She has dissected the available evidence on the subject with a clinical precision not seen in the study of humanities. Prof romila thapar on somnath temple and the story of shakuntala in various texts part 10.
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