On 13th September 2013, History Department of Lady Shri Ram College organized a talk by one of the most celebrated historians of today, Professor Upinder Singh. She is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Delhi. Professor Singh has a wide range of research interests and specializes in analysis of ancient and early medieval inscriptions, social and economic history, religious institutions and patronage, the history of archaeology and the modern history of ancient monuments. Her works have been published in many national and international journals and she has authored and edited many books on a wide range of topics pertaining to ancient Indian history.
On the previous occasion that Professor Singh had visited LSR, she had spoken on Ancient Delhi. This time, she introduced us to some vital aspects pertaining to ‘War in Ancient India’, and how different political ideas were woven into sources such as texts and inscriptions, visual sources, etc. Ancient India is portrayed as a peace-loving era where Buddhism, Jainism and Ashoka symbolized peace. This makes the study and research on war and violence of that period all the more interesting and important. She spoke of three texts which are extremely different in nature and what they have to say about war and violence and how the intellectuals dealt with it.
In the one and half hour that this eminent historian graced our college, we were transported to the courts of Ashoka where he was giving orders to write the Pillar Edict 13, then to the world of Nitisara where Kamandaka speaks about the types of war and power. Finally we entered the world of Kalidasa’s kavya of Raghuvamsha where he aestheticizes war. The entire department was enthralled by Professor Singh’s in-depth knowledge of the subject and her aura. It was a wonderful and academically enriched afternoon with interesting questions being posed by budding historians and deep insights on ancient Indian war. The afternoon ended with these young undergraduate students standing in long queues to get their books autographed. We look forward to the future visits of professor Singh to our college and to her bringing this wonderful subject to life.
Report by Shreya Chowdhury
History Department 