Lecture on ‘History and Literature’
The Researchers’ Society of the Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh organized a lecture on the topic ‘History and Literature’ of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Lecture series.
City Air News
Oct 10, 2022 10:00
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Chandigarh, October 10, 2022: The Researchers’ Society of the Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh organized a lecture on the topic ‘History and Literature’ of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Lecture series.
The lecture was held under the guidance of Prof. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Dr. Priyatosh Sharma, Chairperson, Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Dr. Jasbir Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of History, chaired the session and introduced the theme; Sona Singh, Researcher, Department of History, formally welcomed the speaker, Jasbeer Mand, a famous Punjabi novelist.
In this lecture, Jasbeer Mand discussed the various aspects of writing of historical novels in Punjabi. He demonstrated that history and literature constantly interact with each other. Language is a mode where historians pick the right words to explain the incident and could explain all the historical aspects of major human catastrophises without getting involved in the emotional consequences of these. A novelist, on the other hand, could engage with the emotional aspects of human tragedies and even can dramatize the facts.
Mand explained that the literate always fills in the blank spaces that historical facts fail to fill and historian leaves out. The hidden character of historical incidents always come into light through literature.
Mand says that history writing cannot be undertaken without historical facts; but literature can explore those aspects of history that a historian tends to avoid in the absence of facts. After the lecture, several scholars interacted with the author in question answer session. The whole lecture was very informative and interactive.
In the end, Dr. Ashish Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of History, offered a vote of thanks. The lecture was attended by more than 70 participants, including faculty members, students, and researchers from different departments of Panjab University, and colleges of Chandigarh.
