HISTORY
Shireen Moosvi on 57th Session of Indian History Congress
The Indian History Congress (IHC) held its 57th annual session at Chennai (Madras), December 27-29, 1996. It was attended by about 600 delegates, and a very large number of research papers were read at the Session. The Annual Meeting on December 2 passed a resolution concerned the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It demanded that the ASI should be made an autonomous organisation on the lines of the ICHR, since its present functioning "as a mere department of the Central Government" was far from satisfactory. Regretting the fact that the Central, Advisory Board of Archaeology has not been convened "for years", it suggested that it be converted into an effective 'governing body" of the ASI to ensure that the ASI's work is subjected to "transparent academic monitoring". It felt that the ASI should always be headed by "an academic of eminence". The Congress shared the widespread concern in the country over the damage to monuments and archaeological remains from "pollution, land-grabbing, parochial prejudice and administrative indifference". It demanded that no monument should be transferred away from the ASI's realm of responsibility and that the ASI should immediately publish a comprehensive list of monuments protected under the Ancient Monuments Act. The ASI was also urged to repair and restore historical buildings under the control of religious trusts, waqfs etc. The Congress called for immediate legislation by parliament to put its recommendations into effect.
By another resolution the IHC recommended that the Bharat Itihas Samshodhak Mandal, Pune, a rich repository of historical archives and materials, be declared an "institution of national importance", and the responsibility for its maintenance and development be taken over by the Government of India from private hands. The. Session was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu CM Karunanidhi, who called upon Indian historians to pay special attention to the cultural achievements of Tamils inside and outside India.
The President of the Session, Professor V.N. Datta devoted his presidential address to an analysis of the circumstances leading to the transfer of power in 1947. He held that "we cannot say that it was the Congress or the League that was responsible" for the partition. Both "acted wrongly" at one time or another, he felt. He pleaded for "dispassionate thinking and free expression" on the part of the historians. A Symposium was held on Concepts of Social Justice in Indian History, the papers being presented by Dr. V. Jha, Profs. Athar Ali and V. Naik. Prof. Iqtidar Alam Khan of Aligarh was elected President for the next Session. Sixteen members were elected to the executive committee, including Profs. Irfan Habib, K.M. Shrimali, Dwijendra Tripathi, Suvira Jaiswal, S. Moosvi and R. Gurukkal, besidès Prof. P Jagadeesan, the local secretary.
