Chandigarh : Panchnad Research Institute conducted its monthly seminar at DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh. The session was attended by educationists, journalists and advocates.
Sh. Sai R Vaidyanathan, author of 12 books on Indian history and Vedic literature, spoke on the topic “Misconceptions about Indian history”. He has been studying these fields for the past 20 years.
Having interacted with people face to face or on social media about various historical topics, the speaker felt that common people do not have the correct image about our own nation. This prevents people from feeling pride in our glorious past.
In the minds of the common man, there exist many wrong impressions about the subject. With the help of statistical data and maps, the speaker gave his arguments on seven topics.
Despite many quotations by foreign travellers and GDP figures, history teachers even today continue to teach that India was a poor nation. “The truth is that India was almost the number one economy in the world till 1700 AD,” Vaidyanathan said.
Another lie that students are taught is that India — being a “weak” nation — never invaded any other country. There are enough examples to prove that the statement is not true.
‘How long was India enslaved’ is a question that draws varied responses from people. Their response ranges from thousands of years to at least 500 years. With the help of the year in which invaders came in and the year in which they finally left, the speaker took the audience towards a more correct answer.
‘Is South India neglected in Indian history’ is another question that the speaker posed to the audience present. The proportion of North Indian empires taught in school to the South Indian ones is definitely unfair, he said. The South did have its share of brave men and women and empires there did colonise faraway lands.
The speech was followed by a question-answer session. Sh. KS Arya, former Principal, DAV College, Chandigarh, described the various places he had visited in South Asia where ancient Indian influence can be seen even today.
Prof BK Kuthiala, Director, Panchnad Research Institute, said that each one of us — in his individual capacity or even within some organisation — should endeavour to find out more about our history, cautioning that it should be based on facts and archaeological evidence.