Becoming a Modern Historian in Princely India: An Intellectual History of Shyamal Das and His Vir Vinod - Softcover

Sharma, Nina

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1848973217 ISBN 13: 9781848973213

Publisher: Olympia Publishers, 2015

Synopsis

This in-depth, educational work by two veteran research scholars provides an intellectual history of Shyamal Das, the first Indian historian to write objective history in Hindi. His monumental four volume work, Vir Vinod [Hero's Delight], a history of his native Mewar and the other Rajputana states, sets a standard for decades to come. Sharma and Shekhar not only give scholars and students of Indian history and historiography the first intellectual biography of this seminal figure, but also provide the first access to Vir Vinod for non-Hindi speaking readers by including selected key Hindi passages with parallel English translations. This is a marvellous tale of professional rivalry as historians battle over the authenticity of foundational texts, persons and events. There are many political considerations is it wise to criticise past rulers and risk offending the current ones How much should an Indian historian take notice of the colonial English way of writing history Shyamal Das deals adroitly with problem after problem to bring his masterpiece to fruition in ways that have helped to reshape the way we think about India and how its history should be written.

Edition details

• Publisher: Olympia Publishers
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1848973217
• ISBN 13: 9781848973213
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 296