Question

Write short note on

Nationalistic historiography

Answer 1

1. Nationalistic Historiography includes the writings of Indian historians who were trained in the British educational system. They aimed at restoring the pride in the ancient glory of India and self-esteem of the Indian readers.
2. The nationalistic historians tried to seek the golden era of Indian history, although at times, they ignored the critical analysis of the historical truth. Nationalistic type of historiography also helped in triggering the Independence movement of the Indian people against the British. For e.g. ‘The Indian War of Independence, 1857’ written by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. 
3. Moreover, the writing of regional histories gained momentum due to the nationalistic historiography and drew attention of the historians to the geographic conditions & history of south Indian regions. 
4. Vishnushastri Chiplunkar who criticised the prejudiced history of ancient India written by British officers, inspired nationalistic writings in Maharashtra.
5. Some other renowned nationalist historians include Mahadev Govind Ranade, Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Rajendra Lal Mishra, Kashi Prasad Jayswal, Radha Kumud Mukherjee, Anant Sadashiv Altekar, Bhagawan Lal Indraji, Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi and V. K. Rajwade.