Indian Cultures as Heritage: Contemporary Pasts

95 Pages·2018·0.56 MB·English

by  Romila Thapar

INDIAN CULTURES AS HERITAGE
Also by Romila Thapar in Aleph
On Nationalism
The Public Intellectual in India
The Past As Present: Forging Contemporary Identities Through History

ALEPH BOOK COMPANY
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First published in India in 2018
by Aleph Book Company
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Copyright © Romila Thapar 2018
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The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and the facts are as reported by her,
which have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.
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ISBN: 978-93-84067-35-9
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CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction: Defining Cultures
1. Cultures as Heritage
2. Heritage: The Contemporary Past
3. Time Before Time
4. Science as Culture
5. Women Decoding Cultures
6. The Culture of Discrimination
7. Knowledge as Heritage
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
References and Further Reading
PREFACE
The questions that I asked when I was putting together this book were many and
they revolved around the broader issues of heritage and culture. Some were
questions that are generally not asked when heritage and culture are under
discussion. Three centuries ago the definition of both was clear and
uncomplicated. But now there are a range of definitions that recognize the many
cultures that make up a society and the multiplicity of its heritage. My attempt
here is to consider just a few among the many, merely to suggest that there is
much that we miss out when we speak of culture as it was defined in earlier
times.
Both culture and heritage require a context that refers them to their past or
the present, so that they can be recognized as representing what we perceive as
patterns of living, patterns that we are now beginning to concede give a direction
to cultures. Their links may not be visible to historians. Or, possibly, my concern
was with searching for the context of cultures—even if I was considering just a
few—and in no particular order. This too underlines the connectedness. My
focus, therefore, is on contexts rather than on objects. As it had been said,
objects have an aura. I would argue that seeing each in its context heightens that
aura. But this may again be just the obsession of an historian.
My other argument in this book is that we have in the past often thought of
culture as single, as representing everyone in that singularity. For this singularity
we have generally selected, or at least given it pride of place, the pattern of
living and thinking of the elite. ‘High’ culture was what made for civilization,
and the ‘rest’ did not matter too much. But now we know that in searching for
the contexts of cultures, much comes from a hierarchy of sources, from high all
the way down, and has to be acknowledged. My concern in this book is with a
few of the many varied contexts that give an identity to cultures. My argument is
not that every item of what we call culture has to be taken through a span of
contexts, but that it might be worth investigating whether there are contexts
other than the obvious ones.
In writing this book, I have drawn partly on some lectures that I have given
in recent years to diverse audiences, and partly on published essays. These I
have revised and rewritten in the last few months. My intention was to select a
few themes and consider how they may be viewed as having contributed to the
articulation of Indian cultures.
I would like to thank David Davidar and Aienla Ozukum at Aleph for their
helpful comments and reactions to the text.
Romila Thapar
New Delhi
December 2017