Colonial historiography not in tune with indigenous identity, says NU Vice chancellor Jagadish Kumar Patnaik

Our Correspondent
Mokokchung, Oct. 18 (EMN): The Vice Chancellor of Nagaland University, Professor Jagadish Kumar Patnaik, on Tuesday asserted that there is a defect in the historiography, deliberately done by colonial historians, which is not in consonance with the spirit of nationalism and identity of the indigenous community.

The vice chancellor was speaking as the chief guest during the one-day programme on “Contribution of Tribal Heroes in Freedom struggle” under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav organised in collaboration with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) at I Ihoshe Kinimi Hall, Nagaland University, Lumami campus.

The professor challenged the notion of nationalism, stating that it was a “very narrow concept”. He argued that nationalism is a European concept which is defined in the line of ethnic communities whereas India’s concept of social and political engineering is different from the concept of western political order.

“Nationalism is not a concept that is part of Indian civilization. Our culture is old and unseen where we have space for every community and tribes,” he asserted.

Asserting that history is not just about studying the documents, files and notices made by clerics in British Museums, Patnaik said Indians have challenged the colonial power in every stage but were suppressed.

“In this connection, we need to revisit history and look from a different perspective and put it into context by understanding ourselves and rediscover our identity because the tribal identity is always not clearly identified,” he said.

Stating that the government in power is looking into a fresh perspective in regard to free-struggle contribution, he requested the Department of History and Archeology to approach the Indian Council of Historical Research to get a project to study the Naga history in a proper perspective by folklore and oral history.

“We need to feel ourselves first not to be soaked in the past and be integrated into the mainstream so we can retain our identity and can be part of the larger framework,” he said.

Professor Y Ben Lotha, speaking on the same topic, shared that resistance and rebellion were viewed as flashpoints in the history of colonialism and in the context of Northeast India, it cannot be explained by a single factor, as they frequently drew on multiple discontents.

He asserted that the tribal leaders or the unsung heroes directly or indirectly provided huge contributions in the national movement for liberation of India from foreign domination; and nation building efforts of the tribal communities cannot be ignored.