History Vs cultural memory? Rajputs also collaborated with British | The Indian Express

History Vs cultural memory? Rajputs also collaborated with British | The Indian Express

History Vs cultural memory? Rajputs also collaborated with British

Although one cannot but agree with Pratap Bhanu Mehta, as a ‘secular’ historian who asserts that Padmavati existed only in legend, let me say that more than being a trap, pitting history against cultural memory will go against the established and respected practices of modern historians’ craft. In fact, cultural memory too has a history.

Written by Pankaj Jha | Updated: November 26, 2017 1:33 pm

Padmavati: Myths might not be based on facts, but the fact of their ‘popular’ legitimacy, their circulation and their claims to truth cannot be ignored.

That the Padmavati controversy gave another excuse to the media and their manipulators to keep the public attention away from issues of health, education and livelihood was bad enough. Now two sets of binaries on the issue, coming from opposite sides of the ideological spectrum, have left us completely nonplussed. One sees ‘Padmini’s jauhar as a symbol of the importance for women of their honour’ (Tarun Vijay, Indian Express, 22 November) and cites cherished cultural memory in its favour even as it condemns the secular historians.