September 08, 2014

Bipin Chandra, the historian is no more.

Bipin Chandra, the renowned Marxist historian is no more. I have learned it through the facebook page of Prof Rajiv Lochan of Punjab University. He was born in 1927 in Himanchal and died in 2014.

Bipin Chandra is known among the students of history as the author of 'India's Struggle for Independence'. In 2008 came his Indian after Independence(first published in 2000). His other book which I read was Communalism in India. In 2009 came his re published compilation of Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India with a Prologue by Aditya Mukherjee, his coauthor as well Professor of Jwahar Lal Nehru University New Delhi. In 2008 he received life time achievement award from Indian History Congress. He became National Research Professor in 2006.

My understanding of Modern History was framed by reading of text book of V. D. Mahajan, the father of Mridula Mukherjee, one of the co author of Bipin Chandra. Then I graduated to Modern India by Sumit Sarkar. I was not fully qualified to understand that book. I struggled. Then I came across Bipin Chandra's books. It introduced me to paradigms like STS or PCP. Such interpretations definitely nurtured my faculties of learning history. I happened to meet Aditya Mukherjee and even interact. I developed a wish to meet Bipin Chandra. But now that would not be fulfilled.





June 02, 2014

Historic participant and Historicism




It is reported in print media that Narendera D. Modi, the prime minister in India had visited his party headquarter of BJP on June 01, 2014. It was a Sunday. It was the first Sunday for Narendera D. Modi after he took over as the prime minister in the country on May 26, 2014.

At the BJP headquarter, Narendera D. Modi spoke of the need to document the Indian election. He pointed out that when Tony Blair won his first election in the U.K., there was a book Spin Doctor, which documented his victory and strategies.



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