Date:21/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/21/stories/2008092154680600.htm

Tamil Nadu

Re-interpret history: Ponmudy

Special Correspondent

Fifteenth annual session of Tamil Nadu History Congress inaugurated

— Photo: M. Srinath

First copy: K. Veeramani (right), Chancellor, Periyar Maniammai University, handing over a souvenir to N. Subrahmanian, historian, at Vallam in Thanjavur on Friday. K. Ponmudy, Minister for Higher Education, is in the picture.

THANJAVUR: Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy has appealed to historians to make true re-interpretation of history with scientific facts to help youth to understand real history.

Inaugurating the fifteenth annual session of Tamil Nadu History Congress at the Periyar Maniammai University here on Friday, Mr. Ponmudy said that impact of stories in history was more in India.

“Objectivity in history is a major problem faced by historians. How can one be objective? History should be based on scientific facts. The movement in 1857 was Sepoys’ Mutiny from the British view point while it was the war of independence for Indians.

“Historians have said that history would be different and true if written from the Cauvery basin instead of the Ganges basin .

“Chancellor of Periyar Maniammai University K. Veeramani said that facts are different from fiction and that “history should get its social justice”.

Dravidian history was the most distorted one, he said. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has done a good thing by opening a Centre for Dravidian Studies at Chennai University. He also called for innovations while writing history. Now historians have changed indicating the period as “Before Christ” (BC) and “After the death of Christ” (A.D) and now they are indicating it as Common Era (CE) and Before Common Era (BCE).

Mr. Veeramani and the Minister honoured nonagenarian elder historian N. Subramanian at the function. Subramanian said that history should never be distorted. Students should learn to think.

History is the mother of all disciplines, he added.

Vice-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University M. Ponnavaikko appealed to the Tamil Nadu History Congress to make its website bilingual, ie., in English and Tamil.

Former Vice-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University M.Muthukumaran said that the understanding of history and our forefathers would give us selfrespect.

Vice-Chancellor of Periyar Maniammai University N. Ramachandran presided over the meeting.