yeah good evening and thank you for for
this introduction unfortunately I didn’t
decide to actually go into all this past
of Indian science because that is not
exactly what I planned I thought I will
talk talk to you about learning from
history that’s what the pain told me and
I will touch upon science as well and
the idea was to do in present context
particularly in India where past is
always with us all the time and all of
us claim to be great experts in
understanding what our past is which
leads to all sorts of problems for us so
I thought let me let me reflect upon
that in this brief little time we have
first what exactly is history history
for us today is not really the history
which we used to learn couple of decades
ago which was a biography of kings and
queens and we never bothered to actually
have a look at the past in terms of what
what were the production techniques what
was science what was our culture and
what was the sort of life which people
used to lead now that aspect of our
history was totally untouched so it was
a very very very enclaved a sort of
understanding of our past now all that
is behind us we have gone much beyond
that and today as the little girls just
told you are and then understanding of
history and my own concern one concern
you know I do a couple of things but one
of them is my understanding of of
science in India
I don’t do ancient science what exactly
happened in India in the 19th century
onwards how did we engage with with
modernity with modern science etcetera
without traditional knowledge base
in tact and that was that was the the
main challenge because India is a
civilization which which is not actually
actually like like it’s not a tabula
rasa now it is it is a civilization
which is rich which contributes to be
rich no country not even the British
could come here and impose things
without facing a challenge from what
India actually was so there was a very
very active sort of interaction between
between India Indian civilization and
what the British got got to got to India
with them in the 19th century so this
interaction I have tried to understand
all my work is around that what we did
to mathematics what we did to to science
in general what we did to modern
scientific ideas in general so all that
gives us and gives us an idea how our
knowledge can be understood can be read
in a broad perspective that teaches us
that is actually the understanding of
history which I have that teaches us
that the world is porous all of us
cannot claim and nobody can claim
exclusive rights over over knowledge
scientific knowledge particularly we
have learnt and this is something which
I which I keep saying that we cannot
claim as as some people do that we are
masters of the world we are masters of
the world of course in some areas but we
have also learned a lot from others and
that is something which I try to
emphasize that we should get out of that
mode when we learn about the past when
you talk about the past when I talk
about the history of our civilization we
have given to the world but we have in
the process understood a lot from others
and that is how that is how the the
knowledge grows in this in this process
we
we actually try to try to grapple with
with civilizations elsewhere and there
are so many instances one can one can
give but there is no time for that if we
move from from this to the political
history part of it which is my another
area and I want to talk about it because
that is very very important in the
context we are living in today in India
when we learn from history like for
example I give you an example of a
guessing Bhagat Singh is somebody which
everybody who everybody loves and
everybody can relate to especially the
young when we read about him we just
don’t care what progressing actually
stood for you know that is that is how
history is being he history is being
being read we just remember him as a
martyr as a great nationalist we don’t
care to understand what exactly he stood
for what were his ideas and in his case
it is so easy because he left behind the
intellectual legacy in the form of
written word he wrote so much so we can
we can straightaway go and understand
try to understand what exactly he left
behind unfortunately in our context
today for the last several years we
don’t bother to understand our past in a
manner in which we should do in a
holistic way we do that very
conveniently that’s what we suits us
because amatis legacy is very convenient
on 20th March you’ve organized a
function garland is photo and finish his
intellectual legacy is very difficult to
follow because he is a man who talked
off and these are all relevant things
unfortunately even today against cast
against communalism the role of students
in politics and international universal
brotherhood well these are all important
subjects
she touched upon as a young man of 23 so
if you try to grapple with these ideas
of s then it will take lot of energy lot
of time lot of difficult exercise
because you just can’t do that by God
Landingham so these are issues which
need to be kept in mind when we talk of
learning from history and these are
examples have tried to give to you
similarly there are so many other
instances the one can talk about
unfortunately what is happening with
with our past is that in India
particularly I have not seen it in
elsewhere in other countries among
students or even the adult population
people don’t relate to the past in a
manner in a passionate way as as we do
and that is across caste communities
religion or age groups every everybody
in India and I try to use this process
again panikker actually used this
expression once long back that history
is it like cricket anybody can can make
a comment sitting outside and whether
you have held a bat in your life or not
but you will make a comment on it on a
batsman’s style of betting similarly in
history without understanding without
reading without knowing anything we
can’t you can’t do that in economics in
sociology science is not possible at all
history is only subject where everybody
is an expert and that is the reason why
we are actually facing all sorts of
problems because history has a method
history has a method of understanding
the past the tools of understanding in
the past which most of the people don’t
don’t really comprehend you know they
don’t they and we don’t expect anybody
doesn’t expect everyone to be an expert
in history but everybody wants to relate
to the past whether it is in terms of
religion caste community I don’t want to
name but there are so many problems we
are facing today and all that involves a
large number of people with the past
unfortunately instead of learning
learning from the past we have started
some of us haven’t started living in the
past now that that causes most of the
trouble because past you can only relate
to the past in the context of what you
want to plan for your future you should
learn but you can’t actually start
living in the past that that causes most
of the trouble because if you do that
then you are going to confront because
most of your present cannot cannot
reconcile with the with the medieval
past of the ancient past because those
were different worlds those were
different times you can only talk about
them and learn whatever is is retrieve
whatever is retrievable salvage water
whatever is salvageable not everything
unfortunately we are not making that
sort of distinction which we need to
make and so learning from the past
learning from history is important only
when you try to rationally understand
what exactly how you exactly you want to
learn you just can’t emotionally engage
with the past or you can’t look for
heroes and heroines in the past because
today that is another serious problem
that we want to look for heroes in
medieval India in ancient India we don’t
understand though these people will come
with their baggage with their weaknesses
and strengths because they belong to a
different period know which which will
not really go along your 21st century
life type lifestyle or values but some
people want to do that and that is the
issue which is leading to all sorts of
trouble which we are facing in our lives
almost every day and unfortunately
history has become more important
subject than then even economic
condition of the country you know
because we are more passionate about
what happened in the past then what is
happening today or what is going to
happen in future so that is that is
something which is I believe is a future
either is a
is a misunderstanding of the past not
really the understanding of the past
thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
this introduction unfortunately I didn’t
decide to actually go into all this past
of Indian science because that is not
exactly what I planned I thought I will
talk talk to you about learning from
history that’s what the pain told me and
I will touch upon science as well and
the idea was to do in present context
particularly in India where past is
always with us all the time and all of
us claim to be great experts in
understanding what our past is which
leads to all sorts of problems for us so
I thought let me let me reflect upon
that in this brief little time we have
first what exactly is history history
for us today is not really the history
which we used to learn couple of decades
ago which was a biography of kings and
queens and we never bothered to actually
have a look at the past in terms of what
what were the production techniques what
was science what was our culture and
what was the sort of life which people
used to lead now that aspect of our
history was totally untouched so it was
a very very very enclaved a sort of
understanding of our past now all that
is behind us we have gone much beyond
that and today as the little girls just
told you are and then understanding of
history and my own concern one concern
you know I do a couple of things but one
of them is my understanding of of
science in India
I don’t do ancient science what exactly
happened in India in the 19th century
onwards how did we engage with with
modernity with modern science etcetera
without traditional knowledge base
in tact and that was that was the the
main challenge because India is a
civilization which which is not actually
actually like like it’s not a tabula
rasa now it is it is a civilization
which is rich which contributes to be
rich no country not even the British
could come here and impose things
without facing a challenge from what
India actually was so there was a very
very active sort of interaction between
between India Indian civilization and
what the British got got to got to India
with them in the 19th century so this
interaction I have tried to understand
all my work is around that what we did
to mathematics what we did to to science
in general what we did to modern
scientific ideas in general so all that
gives us and gives us an idea how our
knowledge can be understood can be read
in a broad perspective that teaches us
that is actually the understanding of
history which I have that teaches us
that the world is porous all of us
cannot claim and nobody can claim
exclusive rights over over knowledge
scientific knowledge particularly we
have learnt and this is something which
I which I keep saying that we cannot
claim as as some people do that we are
masters of the world we are masters of
the world of course in some areas but we
have also learned a lot from others and
that is something which I try to
emphasize that we should get out of that
mode when we learn about the past when
you talk about the past when I talk
about the history of our civilization we
have given to the world but we have in
the process understood a lot from others
and that is how that is how the the
knowledge grows in this in this process
we
we actually try to try to grapple with
with civilizations elsewhere and there
are so many instances one can one can
give but there is no time for that if we
move from from this to the political
history part of it which is my another
area and I want to talk about it because
that is very very important in the
context we are living in today in India
when we learn from history like for
example I give you an example of a
guessing Bhagat Singh is somebody which
everybody who everybody loves and
everybody can relate to especially the
young when we read about him we just
don’t care what progressing actually
stood for you know that is that is how
history is being he history is being
being read we just remember him as a
martyr as a great nationalist we don’t
care to understand what exactly he stood
for what were his ideas and in his case
it is so easy because he left behind the
intellectual legacy in the form of
written word he wrote so much so we can
we can straightaway go and understand
try to understand what exactly he left
behind unfortunately in our context
today for the last several years we
don’t bother to understand our past in a
manner in which we should do in a
holistic way we do that very
conveniently that’s what we suits us
because amatis legacy is very convenient
on 20th March you’ve organized a
function garland is photo and finish his
intellectual legacy is very difficult to
follow because he is a man who talked
off and these are all relevant things
unfortunately even today against cast
against communalism the role of students
in politics and international universal
brotherhood well these are all important
subjects
she touched upon as a young man of 23 so
if you try to grapple with these ideas
of s then it will take lot of energy lot
of time lot of difficult exercise
because you just can’t do that by God
Landingham so these are issues which
need to be kept in mind when we talk of
learning from history and these are
examples have tried to give to you
similarly there are so many other
instances the one can talk about
unfortunately what is happening with
with our past is that in India
particularly I have not seen it in
elsewhere in other countries among
students or even the adult population
people don’t relate to the past in a
manner in a passionate way as as we do
and that is across caste communities
religion or age groups every everybody
in India and I try to use this process
again panikker actually used this
expression once long back that history
is it like cricket anybody can can make
a comment sitting outside and whether
you have held a bat in your life or not
but you will make a comment on it on a
batsman’s style of betting similarly in
history without understanding without
reading without knowing anything we
can’t you can’t do that in economics in
sociology science is not possible at all
history is only subject where everybody
is an expert and that is the reason why
we are actually facing all sorts of
problems because history has a method
history has a method of understanding
the past the tools of understanding in
the past which most of the people don’t
don’t really comprehend you know they
don’t they and we don’t expect anybody
doesn’t expect everyone to be an expert
in history but everybody wants to relate
to the past whether it is in terms of
religion caste community I don’t want to
name but there are so many problems we
are facing today and all that involves a
large number of people with the past
unfortunately instead of learning
learning from the past we have started
some of us haven’t started living in the
past now that that causes most of the
trouble because past you can only relate
to the past in the context of what you
want to plan for your future you should
learn but you can’t actually start
living in the past that that causes most
of the trouble because if you do that
then you are going to confront because
most of your present cannot cannot
reconcile with the with the medieval
past of the ancient past because those
were different worlds those were
different times you can only talk about
them and learn whatever is is retrieve
whatever is retrievable salvage water
whatever is salvageable not everything
unfortunately we are not making that
sort of distinction which we need to
make and so learning from the past
learning from history is important only
when you try to rationally understand
what exactly how you exactly you want to
learn you just can’t emotionally engage
with the past or you can’t look for
heroes and heroines in the past because
today that is another serious problem
that we want to look for heroes in
medieval India in ancient India we don’t
understand though these people will come
with their baggage with their weaknesses
and strengths because they belong to a
different period know which which will
not really go along your 21st century
life type lifestyle or values but some
people want to do that and that is the
issue which is leading to all sorts of
trouble which we are facing in our lives
almost every day and unfortunately
history has become more important
subject than then even economic
condition of the country you know
because we are more passionate about
what happened in the past then what is
happening today or what is going to
happen in future so that is that is
something which is I believe is a future
either is a
is a misunderstanding of the past not
really the understanding of the past
thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
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