Drawing on history with purpose

In 1965, Indian writer Purushottam Nagesh Oak, who is known for his historical revisionism, self-published a book titled The Taj Mahal was a Rajput Palace. Oak claimed that the Agra-based World Heritage Site “originated as a Rajput palace”.

In 2000, the Supreme Court dismissed his claims. However, time and again, Oak’s theories are used to base religiously-inspired political agendas. Recently, Dr Rajneesh Singh, who claimed to be BJP’s youth wing media in-charge of Ayodhya, filed a petition to sought directions from the court to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open 22 closed rooms in the Taj Mahal in order to ascertain the presence of idols of Hindu deities.

On Thursday, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and asked the petitioner not to make a mockery of the PIL system. History has been instrumental in helping one comprehend history and cope with issues of the present.

There is no doubt that a distorted version of the past can create harm. Understanding the importance of documenting the past, N* (*name changed), a research scholar of history from Central Delhi, started ‘Itihassnama’—a microblog on Instagram—in September 2021.

Addressing false narratives
Passionate about history, N* was enraged to witness how false historical narratives receive immense media attention. “I started ‘Itihassnama’ because I was sad and angry,” she comments. Her aim was to launch a blog that showcases how history can actually be a medium to foster harmony. Elaborating how false narratives are often being fed to the masses, N* talks about the 2018 Indian period drama romantic film Padmaavat, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

The film outlines the story of Rani Padmavati, a 14 Century Rajput queen and wife of Maharawal Ratan Singh, whose kingdom was attacked by Turco-Afghan emperor Alauddin Khilji after he heard of her beauty and tried to enslave her. The film was mired in controversy—the sets were vandalised by the Karni Sena and crew members accused of hurting religious sentiments.

N*, however, points out that many may not know that the film is based on an epic poem titled Padmavat, written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540—Alauddin Khilji died in 1316. “The Sufi poem actually talks about the soul’s energy to the divine. Characters of Padmavati and Khilji represent the extremes of human nature. The epic has no basis in history but to create the narrative that whatever happened [in the film] was true is absolutely incorrect,” mentions N*.

Chronicling historical facts
After spending hours reading and researching historical evidence, N* tries to encapsulate the information into bite-sized captions along with scenic photographs of heritage sites and monuments—she uploads photographs clicked by other photographers and credits them.

Stressing on how her work is centred on facts, N* shares, “I never eulogise or personify any particular entity from history. There should be no hero worship in history.” With more than 30,000 followers, the page has received a good response. N* concludes by talking about feeling a sense of responsibility towards addressing the prevalent misinformation, “If I make a difference in the perception of at least one person, I believe investing all this time was worth it.”