HANSRAJ COLLEGE
University of Delhi
NAAC Grade A++ with CGPA 3.71 NIRF Rank # 12 (Amongst Colleges)
University of Delhi
NAAC Grade A++ with CGPA 3.71 NIRF Rank # 12 (Amongst Colleges)
The History Society is the official society of the Department of History, Hansraj College. The Society aims to develop within students a critical understanding of History through co-curricular activities. With this objective, the Society organises activities like seminars, talks, workshops, heritage walks and movie screenings. The Society over the years has hosted the talks by a number of experts. The Society also organises its annual fest SAMVAT, where students are encouraged to engage with History beyond the class-room and understand some of its key applications practically. The Undergraduate Research Paper Conference is the highlight of the Society's endeavour for promoting inquiry into the past, which gives students an opportunity to explore the contours of historical methods and research. Students from various colleges and universities across India participate in the conference and it acts as an agent for exchange of ideas.
Over the years the Society has been a witness and an active agent in training students in the Historians’ Craft, instilling methodological expertise in them to pursue the discipline further. The historian, his/her sources, the engagement between the two, and the resultant discourse/narrative have been sought to be put in their correct perspective
Amidst global pandemic the Undergraduate Research Conference was organised in completely online mode. It saw participation of students from universities all over India. 15 research papers were presented on topics such as the Channer Revolt; Art for Resistance; Resistance in Urban Space through Graffiti & Street Art; Anti-Arrack Movement; Conservation in Colonial India, among others. Great insights were drawn from the discussions that followed. Stages and contours of various people’s movements in their proper context were understood, and students got a glimpse of grass-root level politics, its development and the path it entails. The Conference was judged by Dr. Maya John, Department of History, Jesus and Mary College and Dr. Nirmal Kumar, Department of History, Hansraj College.
Prof. Mukherjee and Prof. Nigam gave insightful talks on decolonisation and its relevance in the writing of history. They emphasised the need for significantly altering the existing structures to understand colonialism and its impact. They also raised some important issues such as would the project of decolonisation ever be completely over. The two sessions were followed by an interactive session. Over 250 students participated in the event making the event a huge success.
The second and third students of the department organised Freshers’ Welcome for the incoming batch. The event included a number of fun filled activities including a quiz. There were also dance and music performances by the students. It was clear that the History department of the college is an extremely diverse platform where students from different parts of the country come together.
Prof. Narayani Gupta started the talk by emphasising the need to experience the city in order to understand it. Prof. Gupta further gave importance to the etymology of the names of places, as a key starting point in writing about it. Various developmental activities and its impact on the cityscape were also explored in the talk. The close relation of history with geography was also elaborated upon by Prof. Gupta. The webinar ended with a question and answer session. Many students had participated in the webinar, and the erudite speaker’s talk left a deep impression on all of them.
Dr. Vasudha Pande, Department of History, Lady Shri Ram College opened a stimulating conversation on the idea of Ecofeminism and how it situates gender, nature, and inequalities. Providing a background to the various waves of the feminist movement, Dr. Pande traced the origins of the notion of Ecofeminism. Locating the year 1974 as a watershed moment, she addressed the different strands of ideas within the ecofeminist movement and the debates pertaining to their interpretations.
Dr. Santosh Kumar Rai in his talk dealt with Gandhi’s Philosophy. He tried to locate him as a historical figure rather than the image that we have in popular imagination. Dr. Rai also emphasised the importance of Gandhian philosophy in the current scenario, especially in the context of preservation of nature and the idea of development.
