Dear Jey,
I watched the concise video in which you discussed the manner in which history is constructed, as well as the various genres of historical writing. Today, history is the most frequently manipulated and distorted subject in Tamil Nadu. In contemporary Tamil Nadu, it is common for individuals without a basic understanding of historical writing to seize random information and present it as authentic history. In North India, religious fundamentalists engage in this practice when writing religious history; here, however, the role occupied by religion is taken up instead by language or caste.
The individuals who instill in these people the confidence to write history entirely according to their own whims are precisely those who have themselves already written whatever came to their minds—claiming it to be history—and who, through this very method, have attained—and continue to attain—every form of power and recognition. In the Tamil context, there is a pressing need to explicitly define what constitutes “history.” One is compelled to reiterate, time and again, that history is a rigorous, evidence-based framework—a structure that is perpetually engaged in the ongoing process of filling in its various gaps. In this regard, this discourse on historical writing is of paramount importance.
George Arumai
