Works of scholarship related to issues of contemporary concern
The true historian would strive to explain to the reader how and why things were as they were, avoiding any kind of blind trust in tradition. The Vice-President said Mr. Panikkar stood tall in the noble fraternity of such historians.
Ansari said that this volume was a collection of papers and articles that Panikkar had written over years. Together, they sustain and reinforce his position as an outstanding public intellectual of our times.
Watch the book release of History as a Site Struggle by KN Panikkar. Speakers include Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India, and Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala. Also present were Romila Thapar, Shashi Tharoor and N.A. Baby. The event took place in Thiruvanathapuram on September 11, 2013.
This valuable collection of essays by KN Panikkar chronicles contemporary South Asia as it has unfolded in the last three decades. His being a historian of modern India has lent to his analysis of contemporary concerns a unique vantage point not available in most commentaries of contemporary South Asia.
The author focuses on the alliance between the neo-liberal policies and Hindu fundamentalism in India, and the vicissitudes of politics in all of South Asia, particularly the rights of minorities and the linkages between religious fundamentalism and the erosion of democracy. He gives special attention to the historical context of the Hindu right wing cultural project and outlines the agenda for struggle against the corrosive influence of this home grown fascism.
