The Historian

I’ve always excelled in history, earning commendable marks in school. My mother, a history major in college, still impresses me with her ability to recall significant dates with ease. Ask her the year of the Battle of Plassey (1757), and she’ll answer instantly. The Second Battle of Panipat (1556)? She has it just as quickly. Though I haven’t tested her memory recently, her knack for historical dates remains remarkable.

One of the most captivating history books I’ve read, consumed with the eagerness of a well-crafted novel, is Professor A. Sreedhara Menon’s Kerala History. Written in Malayalam, I purchased it decades ago from Current Book House in Thiruvananthapuram, and its vivid details still linger in my mind. The book is an engaging read, sustaining curiosity with its inquisitive tone. In contrast, I recently bought Romila Thapar’s Early India but have struggled to progress through it. Let me clarify: I lack the scholarly expertise to critique Thapar, nor is that my intent.

Professor Menon’s work brilliantly illuminates facets of early Kerala, such as the dawn of Christianity and the Christians of Canon, who were granted authority to settle north of Cochin. He also explains why Tamil Brahmin households in Kerala and Tamil Nadu possess significant amounts of ancient gold jewellery. Menon attributes this to the fear of Mughal invasions in South India. Temples, as repositories of valuable metals and stones, were prime targets for plundering armies. To protect this wealth, Brahmin priests were authorised to move it to their homes. The anticipated Mughal invasion never materialised, leaving the gold with these households.

History is often written by the victors, but it takes a scholar with integrity, courage, and an unyielding commitment to truth—like Professor Menon—to document it impartially. Those swayed by ideology, beholden to a particular “ism,” wear blinders and cannot judge history fairly. As Menon aptly noted, such writers act as “lawyers who collect materials to suit their theories,” crafting stories rather than history. This is evident in the communist government’s rejection of Menon’s book on Kerala’s freedom movement because he refused to align with their official narrative. Had a communist written Kerala’s history, events like the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising would likely be painted red, distorted to fit an ideological agenda.

For post-independence India’s history to be written truthfully and objectively, it must be by scholars like Professor Menon. Otherwise, it risks being filtered through the biased lens of a Congress loyalist, a Hindu nationalist, or a communist ideologue, resulting in a skewed narrative rather than authentic history.