This journal contains a compilation of talks delivered at the History for Peace regional conference on 'What is History' at Vidyagyan School, Bulandshahr in 2024 and St Kabir Public School, Chandigarh in 2025

What is History?

Is it a collection of dates and facts?

Is it the study of human experiences, actions and their consequences across time?

Is it a vital tool for understanding the present and shaping the future?

By studying history, do we gain a deeper appreciation of our collective heritage, identity and the complexities of human existence?

Is history simply and rather bluntly, the past i.e. a chronicling of events gone by?

Who performs this chronicling and what happens when they ravage through the sands of time to piece together a his-story?

What is the place of Myth in this chronicling?

What role does media/social media play in creating narratives today that will eventually become chronicles of the past?

What are the factors that contribute towards developing the historical consciousness of a society and what it chooses to remember continually?

These are some of the questions we hope to address by turning to a fundamental concept: What is History? We hope to explore ideas which bring to the fore debates around the facticity of history, its (in)fallibility and question if history is only a single idea of the past and if so, whose past. How do these narratives affect classroom discussions and how does a teacher deal with them?

History is a powerful tool, it can sow the seeds of discord, yet foster empathy, care and compassion; its use and abuse at the hands of those in positions of power, makes discussions on history the urgent need of the hour.

Contents

Teaching History, Talking History: Notes from Classroom Conversations

Meera Visvanathan

History and Our Present: Some Reflections

Deepa Sreenivas

Myths, Invented Histories and History

Sohail Hashmi

Notes from the Trenches: Challenges and Opportunities for History

in India's Twenty-first-century Digital Commons

Anirudh Kanisetti

History and Childhood

Krishna Kumar

Archaeology, Media and Politics

Supriya Varma

Myth, History and Historical Traditions: Understanding Early Indian Literary Sources

Kanad Sinha

History as Pedagogy?: Reflections on Writing History Books for Children

Debarati Bagchi, Anwesha Sengupta

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