This lecture was a part of the 'What is History' regional conference held in Chandigarh in October 2025. Just before me, Professor Supriya Varma––my teacher at JNU who taught us archaeology––delivered a lecture. In archaeology we study material remains. As we have been discussing social media and the popular reception of history over the last couple of days, we may also notice that in the public perception of history, the difference between history and archaeology is often c

History for Peace has just concluded its first ever Peace Ambassadors programme. The project was launched in February 2026 in collaboration with the Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (DLHS) at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) at Bengaluru. Three final year students of History – Aditya Sunil, Avishi Agarwal, and Yash Bhattacharjee took on the mantle of peace ambassadors under the guidance of their professor, Swathi Shivanand. The aim of t

This talk was delivered at the annual conference 'On History and Literature' held in Calcutta in July 2025. I came to history through stories. My father gave me a copy of Kamala Subramaniam’s retelling of the Mahabharata, published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, its cover dyed saffron, with a picture of Vyasa dictating the great epic to Ganesha. I remember my seven-year-old-self, sitting on the terrace in the winter sun, having carted up a dhurrie and a plate of oranges, weep

This lecture was part of the History for Peace conference titled 'The Idea of Democracy' hosted at Delhi Public School, Ludhiana on November 12 and 13, 2022. In a now famous speech delivered while presenting the draft Constitution to the Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1948, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar said the following: “Constitutional morality is not a neutral thing. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a

This lecture was delivered as part of the History for Peace conference titled 'The Idea of Democracy' hosted at St Kabir Public School, Chandigarh on May 5 and 6, 2023. Today we will discuss about how children think and how their minds operate. Then I’ll move on to some everyday sociology. And then in the last section, I will do a bit of what you might call following Dr Ambedkar’s physiology of society—why the blood doesn’t flow through Indian society the way it flows throu

This lecture was delivered as part of the History for Peace conference titled 'The Idea of Democracy' hosted at St Kabir Public School, Chandigarh on May 5 and 6, 2023. The 75th anniversary of Indian Independence is a landmark event in the history of our democracy. India had long been an important exception to the notion that democracy can only take root in rich countries. Defying the odds, India introduced a full-fledged democracy in a multi-religious, hierarchical society t

This conversation was part of the History for Peace conference titled 'The Idea of Democracy' hosted at Delhi Public School, Ludhiana on November 12 and 13, 2022. Arvind Narrain: Working as a lawyer, particularly as a lawyer focusing on human rights issues, the Constitution is the document we go back to. During conversations with Dr Thapar in the past, she has very clearly indicated that the Constitution is a document for and to which she has a great deal of concern and attac

These are additional resources for a talk delivered at the annual conference 'On History and Literature' held in Calcutta in July 2025.

This lecture was delivered at the 'What is History' regional conference held in Bulandshahr in October 2024. A Personal Journey with History Before I begin, let me briefly refer to the background that animates this paper. Although I am not a historian, in this presentation, I put before you certain concerns relating to history. Currently, I teach Gender Studies and my background is in the field of Cultural Studies. While I am not trained as a historian, I have always been int

History for Peace is undertaking a new public history initiative with interactive sessions and workshops on the historical craft. This public history series aims to take conversations about history outside the classroom, to expand the consciousness of citizens and to create a critical public sphere.

This lecture was delivered at the 'What is History' regional conference held in Bulandshahr in October 2024.

This lecture was delivered at the regional conference on 'What is History' held in Bulandshahr, October 2024.

This lecture was delivered at the Idea of Belonging Conference, Coimbatore held in October 2024. I will begin by recounting an experience that we had in November 2022 when we did a workshop at Shantiniketan—a small university town near Kolkata—with school children studying in classes 4 and 5. We conducted a workshop where we made multiple cards that could be classified into two broad categories—national identities (Indian, German, British etc.) and non-national identities (re

This lecture was delivered at the Idea of Belonging Conference in Coimbatore on 5, 6 October, 2024

This lecture was delivered at the Idea of Belonging Conference in Coimbatore on 5, 6 October 2024.

This lecture was delivered at the Idea of Belonging Conference held in Coimbatore on 5, 6 October 2024.

This lecture was delivered at the annual History for Peace conference on the 'Idea of Belonging' held in Calcutta, 2024.

This conversation was part of the annual History for Peace conference on the 'Idea of Belonging' which took place in Calcutta, 2024.

This lecture was delivered at the annual History for Peace conference on the 'Idea of Belonging' held in Calcutta, 2024.

This lecture was delivered at the annual History for Peace conference on the 'Idea of Belonging' held in Calcutta, 2024.