Solved Exercise for Precis writing with Title “Need for a New Approach to Indian History” Precis for Class 9, 10, 11, 12 and Higher classes.

Passages with Solved Precis

Men of action like Nepoleon and Frederick, the Great had no high opinion of history, holding it to be composed of falsehoods. It is recorded that when Frederick wanted his secretary to read history to him he would say ‘Bring me my liar’. And it is indeed obvious to those who observe the course of contemporary events that the task of the historian who wishes to give’ a true account of things is almost superhuman in its difficulty. That is presumably why the best histories are about the distant past, though even there, the writer has to beware of introducing his modern prejudices into the fabric of his account. The nationalist who read Indian history easily recognized the bias in the history of his country as conceived by the Englishman. But there has been danger in more recent times of the pendulum swinging to the other extreme.

What is really wanted today is a different orientation towards history, Instead of the scrappy histories of the dynasties and wars that hold the fields, what is required is a history of the people as a whole which will go for its sources not only to historical documents but to literature, folklore, and the arts. This means an extensive study of the Indian languages and their older forms. Emphasis on the importance of describing the social ‘and cultural life of the past is significant of the approach to history which brings it nearer to life by describing the economic and social forces that motivated history. The traditional historian was prone to the purely nationalist view of the past so that it often happened that the English schoolboy heard only of his country’s victories and the French boy only of England’s defeats in war. It was this sort of bias that has resulted in politics being regarded solely as the pursuit of power and encouraged such doctrines as those of fascism. The temptation of the historian to elevate his country of his province at the expense of the others is always great, and in an Indian who seeks to maintain its unity, it is particularly important that people should not become obsessed with notions of superiority based on biased histories.

Precis

Need for a New Approach to Indian History

To present a true account of contemporary times is beyond human capacity. Probably this accounts for the best histories dealing with only the remote past, even though here too, a historian should guard himself against modern partialities. And, of late, there has been another shortcoming namely, the chauvinism of histories; but the need today is for a significant new approach which draws from various sources like literature, arts, legends, folklore and also the conventional historical documents to describe the social and cultural movements of history. As the temptation of the conventional historian to exaggerate the. Importance of his own nation has prompted the rise of extremist thoughts in policies, and Indians seeking historical unity should not be guided by biased histories.