80th Session of Indian History Congress | 31 Dec 2019

Why in News

Recently, the 80th session of the Indian History Congress (IHC) was held at Kannur, Kerala, between 28th and 30th December 2019.

  • It called upon political and administrative authorities to pursue the constitutional duty of promoting composite culture, which is vital to promoting the territorial unity of India.

Indian History Congress

  • In 1935, an All India Congress was organised by the Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala (BISM) to celebrate its silver jubilee. The event resulted in the inception of the IHC.
  • Role of IHC:
    • To regulate the standard of works of history produced in India.
    • To promote impartial and substantive history.
    • To commit to a fair and scientific history, devoid of bias and politics.
  • It passed significant resolutions regarding the protection of monuments of historical importance and the role the government and Archaeological Survey of India should play in their preservation.
  • In 1946, it petitioned the government to allow researchers access to archives.
  • It also began to engage with the history taught in schools and colleges and in 1948, it resolved to contribute to the syllabi in universities and colleges across the country.

Archaeological Survey of India

  • It is the premier organization for the archaeological research, scientific analysis, excavation of archaeological sites, conservation and preservation of protected monuments.
  • It is an attached office under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Culture.
  • It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham, who became its first Director-General.

Source: TH