A Talk on Re-searching History: Returning to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev’ by Professor Aparna Vaidik

ABOUT THE TALK
Most textbooks lead us to believe that all history is known and conveys a sense of an unchangeable past. Yet historians continue to embark on research and discover novel dimensions of the past. How do historians do that? Do they uncover new materials or re-read old sources? Do they reduce their scale of inquiry or widen its scope? This talk is about how historians reconfigure the past in ways that defy received wisdom. Professor Aparna Vaidik will draw on the research for her newest book Revolutionaries on Trial (2024).

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Professor Aparna Vaidik teaches at Ashoka University. She has previously taught at Georgetown University, Washington DC and University of Delhi. Educated at St. Stephen’s College, Cambridge University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, she is author of 3 other books: Waiting for Swaraj, My Son’s Inheritance and Imperial Andamans. She is a recipient of research grants from the British Academy, Andrew Mellon Foundation, Indian Council for Historical Research, and Charles Wallace India Trust.