Voices

The History for Peace project serves as a platform for discussion, debate and the exchange of ideas pertaining to teaching and learning of history for peace and understanding.

LATEST IN VOICES

MYTH, HISTORY AND HISTORICAL TRADITIONS: UNDERSTANDING EARLY INDIAN LITERARY SOURCES - KANAD SINHA

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 confused. This is...

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History and Our Present: Some Reflections - Deepa Sreenivas

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 interested in...

Doing History

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.

HISTORY FOR PEACE AMBASSADORS PROGRAMME

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 the programme was...

THE HISTORIAN AND THE STORYTELLER - MEERA VISVANATHAN

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, weeping copiously...

Getting Past the “Top Dressing”: Ambedkar and his Dhamma in the Classroom: Gita Anjali

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 top-dressing on...