Kozhikode: Kerala's eminent historian MGS Narayanan brought in a fresh perspective in history writing by relying on written and archaeological evidence, historian and epigraphist MR Raghava Warrier has opined.
He was participating in the first day's proceedings of a three-day webinar, jointly organised by Bookart and Kozhikode Life, to celebrate the 90th birthday of MGS on Saturday.
"MGS developed a unique and well-planned methodology in history writing at a time when myths and legends had an upper hand," Warrier said.
Addressing the online audience, Kesavan Veluthat, retired professor of history at the Delhi University, said MGS showed the courage to write Kerala history with a clear historical plan. “His plans were unique,” Veluthat said.
Historian and vice-chairman of the Kerala Higher Education Council Rajan Gurukkal said MGS showed historians the need to find their unique path. “Historians should not regurgitate the obvious. Instead, they should explore the obscure and bring out the facts. I learned this lesson after I had met MGS,” he said.
In his reply, MGS said there is no such thing as ‘last word’ in history. “People create history. The commentaries may change with generations, but we should study them deeply. Historians should register both good and bad. We should analyse and record them without distorting the truth. We should avoid personal biases and rely on evidence to write history,” he said.
Panel discussions
A panel discussion on ‘Historians’ Craft and Kerala’s Pasts’ will be held on the second day of the event on Sunday. Professor Dilip Menon, Professor Sanal Mohan, Dr Manu V Devadeva, Professor M T Ansari will attend the discussion.
On Monday, Dr P P Abdul Razaq, Dr K Shibi, Dr K P Rajesh, E Santhosh will present papers on the topic ‘MGS and Beyond'.
Interested may join the webinar using this link: https://meet.google.com/xur-zdki-ywf?hs=224
