What
place do these history books have in the present Indian social set
up ? These books are not included in the history curriculum since a
hundred years or more, Even after independence many scholars do not
accept these as history books. But there are some institutions and
individuals who, out of conviction about their utility, are
voluntarily educating the public through these books. And in spite
of their disappearance for more than a hundred years, from the
educational field, these books are commanding respect in the hearts
of millions of Indians.
In the present curriculum, the
ancient Indian history written on the lines of Western
historiography, starts from the destroyed Harappan civilization of
2500 BC, It is undecided to whom that civilization belonged. Then
come the Aryan invasion over India in 1500 BC, the Vedas in 1200 BC
and the Nirvana of Buddha in 483 BC. This chronology and the Western
historiography had, then, impressed the scholars many of whom, in
great enthusiasm of the new faith, might have discarded the Indian
historiography. But now the times have changed. Historians are
required to write the history of still ancient millenniums. Hence
the Western historiography itself is undergoing a change. They are
taking resort, not only to mythologies but also to the oral achieves
like folk-tales, etc. Moreover, the recent researches have proved
the Aryan invasion as fake, the date of the Vedas incorrect and the
date of Buddha undecided.
In such circumstances, and specially
when Indians have become independent and are to mold their own
future, it is necessary to pause and consider the course we should
adopt for our historiography. This monograph is a small effort in
that direction.
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