"It is my belief…that the end of British rule has led to a steady deterioration in the critical method of historical studies… I think we are gradually losing sight of the fundamental object and principles of writing history and a lot of confusion of ideas has crept in on this subject… the universally accepted idea which we imbibed at the beginning of this century is that HISTORY MUST BE REGARDED AS AN ETERNAL QUEST FOR TRUTH…everything else being only secondary and subordinate to it… I solemnly hope and pray that these words would be remembered by the present and future generations of historians, for I see great dangers lurking ahead… during the post-Independence period, certain new trends are growing among a section of Indian historians which violate the high ideals of truth… This characteristic is a growing menace to historiography in modern India… I conclude what may be described as my swan-song by saying that HISTORY, DIVORCED FROM TRUTH, DOES NOT HELP A NATION."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
from Dr. R.C. Majumdar’s 1960 address delivered at the Institute of Historical Studies.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/R._C._Majumdar
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
R. C. Majumdar
Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (4 December 1884 – 11 February 1980) was an Indian historian and professor of Indian history at the .
34 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by R. C. Majumdar →
Related Quotes
"Most of us worshipped at this altar of ‘progress’. We denigrated historians like R.C. Majumdar who spent their lives …"
"Unfortunately some archaeologists seem to have no eyes to see anything but what the spade digs up from the bowels of …"
"This world tendency to make history the vehicle of certain definite political, social and economic ideas, which reign…"
"Indians of old were keenly alive to the expansion of dominions, acquisition of wealth, and the development of trade, …"
"There can be no doubt that the architects who planned and built the were Indians. Everything in this temple from Sikh…"
"I have approached the subject from a strictly historical point of view. It is an ominous sign of the time that Indian…"
"The official history of the freedom movement starts with the premises that India lost independence only in the eighte…"
"There are some obvious difficulties in writing a history of the movement for freedom in India only fifteen years afte…"
"For, in any discussion of the question whether the revolt of 1857 was the first national war of independence or not, …"
"To sum up this subject of synthesis, assimilation, and composite culture, I would better quote Dr. R.C. Majumdar, one…"