The Odisha Literature Festival gives voice to a distorted representation of history

on Nov 08, 2022

BHUBANESWAR: The North of India has been underrepresented in our history books in comparison to the South, noted historian and writer Nanditha Krishna said here on Sunday. Nanditha said, speaking on 'North and South: Does Our History Need to Be Reoriented?' with co-panelist and author Parvati Sharma at the Odisha Literary Festival 2022, that many history books make little or no mention of south India's rich history.
The British did not want to discuss the South in colonial history because all of the early revolts against them occurred there. However, she lamented that even post-independence Indian historians did a great disservice to the country when it came to narrating our history.
Another example is Kalinga. "We knew nothing about Kalinga before or after Emperor Ashoka." We also don't recall Ashoka being a Buddhist by the time he arrived in Kalinga. "He came here and threatened the tribes even after those hundred thousand people were killed in the battle, and he took about 150 thousand slaves back to Magadha," she explained.

"In all histories, some dynasties or events have acquired disproportionate presence," Parvati agreed. "This was primarily due to the writing's colonial period." "The history written by the Britishers countered and attempted to position itself against the Mughals," she explained. However, Parvati concluded that India is still one of the most historically rich countries.