Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, India

The ICHR has two regional centres established at Bangalore and Guwahati, which plan and carry out a series of programmes in keeping with, and for the promotion of, the ICHR's avowed aims. The Southern Regional Centre (SRC) is headed by Dr. S.K. Aruni and the North Eastern Regional Centre (NERC) by Shri Uttam Bathari.

Both these centres undertake a number of activities, like arranging library resources, providing support to theme-oriented seminars, organizing lectures by eminent Social Scientists, expanding networks with History departments, exhibiting the ICHR's publications in various seminars/congresses held in the region and providing information about grants to research scholars.

During the period 1 October 2007 to 31 March 2008, the SRC undertook various academic activities, the details of which are given below:

A Pictorial Exhibition on 1857 Revolts entitled ‘Representation of 1857-Recovering the Indian Voice’ was organized in Southern Regional Centre at Bangalore between 15 and 31 December 2007. The Inaugural Programme was presided over by the Council’s Chairman, Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya. Professor S. Chandrashekar of Bangalore University inaugurated the programme and Shri K.N. Hari Kumar, former Editor of Deccan Herald and Prajavani, was the Chief Guest. Over 750 scholars/students/historians participated in the exhibition. A catalogue of the exhibition was distributed among the visitors.

The SRC contributed from its collections of Contemporary Pictorial Evidences of Resistance Against British Rule in South India covering the period starting from Tipu’s Mysore Wars, Revolts of 1857 in Karnataka and archival sources on 1857 in Tamil Nadu during the 1857 Exhibition.

(b) Exhibition on 1857 Revolt in collaboration with Goa State Museum, Panaji, Goa
The SRC, in collaboration with Goa State Museum, Panaji, Goa, organized ‘Exhibition on 1857’ between 19 and 29 February 2008. The exhibition was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Pratap Digambar Kamath, on 19 February 2008. During the course of the exhibition the following events took place:

1. Panel Discussion on 25 February;
2. Quiz Competition on 27 February; and
3. Special Lecture on 29 February.

(c) Exhibition of Rare Archival Drawings/Sketches/ Photographs on Historical Sites of Karnataka
During the 19th Session of Karnataka History Congress held at Tumkur University from 15 to 17 February 2008, the SRC organized an exhibition on historical archival pictorial documents of medieval historical sites for the benefit of scholars who attended the session. The exhibition focused on the importance of archival sources for the study of history.

The SRC organized one-day symposium on ‘Resistance to Colonial Rule in Southern India, till 1857’ during the course of the 1857 exhibition held in Bangalore. The symposium, which took place on 17 December 2007, was inaugurated by Professor O. Anantharamaiah, Vice?Chancellor, Tumkur University; the programme was presided over by the Council’s Chairman, Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya. Research papers on the following themes were presented:

1. Early Resistance to Colonial Rule in Tamilnadu: Search for the Idea of ‘Nation’ by N. Rajendran (Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli);

2. Anti-British Resistance in South-Canara Region by B. Surendra Rao (Mangalore University, Mangalore);

3. The Madras Army, General James Smith Neil and the Counterinsurgency of 1857: Violence and Amnesia in Mutiny - Historiography by Venkata Raghotham (Pondicherry University, Pondicherry);

4. Anti-Colonial Resistance in Andhra, 1748 to 1857 by S. Gopalakrishnan (Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati);

5. 1806 Vellore Revolt—An Anticipation of 1857 Rebellion by K.A. Manikumar (Manormaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli);and

6. Rising of 1857—Karnataka by S. Chandrashekar (Bangalore University, Bangalore).

(b) International Seminar

An International Seminar on ‘Identity, Emotion and Culture: Languages and Literature of the Sub-continent, c. 900 to 1971’ was organized between 4 and 7 January 2008, at the SRC, Bangalore. Professor Rajat Kanta Ray, Vice-Chancellor, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, and the Seminar Director presented the keynote address. The seminar was inaugurated by Professor U.R. Ananthamurthy (Jnanapeetha awardee) and Professor Sugata Bose of Harvard University (Cambridge) was the Chief Guest.

Scholars from both India and abroad presented papers on the said theme. Professor S. Settar (Dharwad); Dr. Chitralekha Zutshi (Williamsburg); Dr. Janaki Nair (Kolkata); Professor S. Chandrasekhar (Bangalore); Professor N. Rajendran (Tiruchirappalli); Professor B. Surendra Rao (Mangalore); Professor Vijaya Ramaswamy (New Delhi); and Professor Kesavan Veluthat (Mangalore) were among the participants.

Under its publications scheme, the SRC brought out Inscriptions of the Vijayanagara Rulers, Vol. II, edited jointly by Dr. Shrinivas Ritti and Dr. B.R. Gopal. The task of publication of the volume was entrusted to the SRC which was duly accomplished in March 2008.

The Southern Regional Centre has been collecting available Digital-Archival Sources related to South Indian history and culture on a big scale from various Web-based sites such as British Library, Columbia University Library, Archives.org, etc. for the benefit of researchers and scholars. Over 200 rare digital books and hundreds of pictorials or drawings/sketches of colonial period and old maps have been stored in CDs which are made available on demand to researchers.

The SRC has been playing a big role by way of publicizing various research schemes of the ICHR and making available CDs to scholars of Epigraphia Carnatica, Lecture Series publications, Towards Freedom volumes, Research Funding Rules booklets, etc., during the History Congress Conferences, seminars, symposia, etc. held in the southern region of the country. The conferences/seminars where the SRC organized exhibitions and installed make-shift stalls to display ICHR publications for sale are as follows:

1. 28th Session of South Indian History Congress held at Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur, from 19 to 21 January 2008.
2. 19th Session of Karnataka History Congress held at Tumkur University from 15 to 17 February 2008.
3. ICHR National Seminar on ‘1857 in Indian History, Historiography and Memory’ organized by the Department of History, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, during 21-22 March 2008.

The Library-Cum-Documentation Unit of the Centre was updated through making available new titles and providing new sources of information to scholars. 206 new titles on various aspects of history and allied subjects were purchased and added to the library’s collection. The library also subscribes to 64 journals. The Library-cum-Documentation Unit of the ICHR, New Delhi, donated 315 books to the SRC for the use of scholars. Over 700 scholars visited and consulted the Centre’s library for studies/research during the period.

The NERC organized the following lectures as part of the lecture series programme:

Lecture XXII: Colonialism and Changing Landscapes: Making and Unmaking of Environmental Relations in Assam

Organized on 21 July 2007, the lecture was delivered by Dr. Rajib Handique, Dibrugarh University, and presided over by Professor (Retd.) M. Taher, Department of Geography, Gauhati University. A total of 40 participants attended the lecture.

Lecture XXIII: Problematic of Space and Historiography on Tea Plantation in Assam

Organized on 4 October 2007, the lecture was delivered by Shri Manjeet Baruah, a Faculty Member of Women’s Studies and Development Centre, Delhi University. The lecture was chaired by Dr. Dipankar Banerjee, Department of History, Gauhati University. A total 30 participants attended the lecture.

Dr Dipankar Banerjee addressing the audience; to his right and left are Shri Uttam Bathari (officer-in-charge, ICHR's NERC) and Shri Manjeet Baruah respectively

Lecture XXIV: Home Away From Home: the Work of Missionary Wives in the Evangelical Project in Colonial Assam

Organized on 31 December 2007, the lecture was delivered by Dr Surya Sikha Pathak, Lecturer, Assam University, Silchar. The lecture was chaired by Dr. Liza Das, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Gauhati.

Organized on 29 March 2008, the lecture was delivered by Professor B. D. Chattopadhaya. It was chaired by Professor (Retd.) M. Taher, Department of Geography, Gauhati University.

Organized on 5 March 2008, as part of the inaugural programme of Exhibition on 1857, the lecture was delivered by Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Chairman, ICHR. The theme of the lecture was: Mahatma Gandhi and Discourse of Civilization.

The NERC had initiated a lecture series programme in 2003. Of these, 5 lectures organized at the Centre were published by the Centre in April 2007. Another five have also been published which were released by Professor Ranju Bezbaruah, former Hony. Director of the Centre, on 5 March 2008. The titles of the lectures published are as follows:

Lecture-VII: Incursion and Resistance in Arunachal Pradesh: Indian Administration and the Tagins by Dr. Ashan Riddi

Lecture-XIII: Rain, Rain Come Again: History of the Rainfall, Deforestation and Water Scarcity in Cherrapunjee, the Rainiest Spot in the Globe by Professor Sajal Nag

Lecture-XVII: We Lost Land: Colonial Forestry, Immigration and Land Alienation among Tribes in Assam by Dr. Makiko Kimura

Lecture-XXIII: The Problematic of Space and Historiography on Tea Plantations in Upper Brahmaputra Valley by Manjeet Baruah

Lecture-XXIV: The Work of Missionary Wives in the Evangelical Project in Colonial Assam: Life and Times of Mrs. P. H. Moore by Dr. Surya Sikha Pathak

Exhibition of Paintings on 1857 titled ‘The Representations of 1857: Recovering the Indian Voice’ was organized from 5 March to 20 March 2008, at the NERC’s premises. Professor Amarjyoti Chaudhury, Vice?Chancellor, Gauhati University, was the Chief Guest who inaugurated the exhibition. A book release function was also organized on 5 March 2008 during which five publications, as per the details given above, were released. Among those who participated in the inaugural function were Professor Amalendu Guha, Professor Birendranath Datta, Shri A.C. Baruah, Professor R. Bezbaruah, Shri R.C. Baruah and Professor Farukh Ahmed.

A five-minute interview programme on the exhibition was also recorded with the AIR, Gauhati, which was broadcasted on 14 March 2008.

With a view to enrich the library of the NERC, several new titles were procured. Apart from history, books on other allied sciences like anthropology, sociology, political science, etc. were procured in view of the increasing importance attached to inter-disciplinary approach. Books on North East were also procured.

During the period under reference, the NERC purchased 671 books for its Library; 37 books and 29 journals were received as complimentary from different sources; and 188 books were received as complimentary from the Council’s Library-cum-Documentation Centre.
The NERC also initiated the process of digitizing rare books through scanning. The scanned page is put on a server to enable access to the scholars through desktop PC. This not only provides access to the same book to multiple users simultaneously and enables getting print-outs easily, but also helps preventing possible damage from constant use.
Reproduction of Rare/Unavailable books

During the said period, 14 rare books and those that are not easily available, were collected from different sources and reproduced by means of photocopy for the NERC’s library.

The NERC prominently displayed all the publications of ICHR, distributed newsletters, list of publications and also made available the lecture series publications for sale during the 28th NEIHA session held at Goalpara College from 1 November 2007 to 3 November 2007; and during the UGC sponsored seminar (on ‘Ethnicity and Folklore’) held at Chhayagaon College, Chhayagaon from 11 to 12 January 2008.

ICHR Newsletter, Vol. 7, No. 1 was also distributed to all the history departments of North-Eastern universities and colleges.

(ii) Participation in Seminar/Conference, etc.
The NERC has been actively participating in different seminars /symposia /conferences / workshops organized in the university and research institutes of the North-East, especially in Gauhati.

(i) Meeting of Regional Advisory Committee
The Fourth Regional Advisory/Monitoring Committee Meeting of the NERC was organized at Gauhati on 7 March 2008. Presided over by Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Chairman, ICHR, the meeting was attended by ten members from the history departments of various universities in the region, including Professor David R. Syiemlieh, Member, ICHR. Dr Y. Chinna Rao, the then Member Secretary, ICHR, also attended the meeting.

(ii) Number of Visitors
The NERC hosted during the period around 4,000 visitors either for consulting the library or to inquire about the ICHR grants, etc. This included several international/foreign scholars. Several dignitaries also visited the library during this period, the notable one being Shri S.K. Bwismutiary, Member of Parliament.

(iii) Installation of Desk-top computers
Ten desk-top computers and servers were purchased and installed to enable storage and access to digitized library catalogue and rare books. It would also help the readers download rare books, avoiding possible damage while photocopying. The ERNET connection provided by the university to the centre shall also be made available to the readers in due course.