The Ownership of Public History in India (TOPHI)

This research project has been co-developed and will be co-delivered by academic historians and community representatives of India’s indigenous people, to bring marginalised epistemologies and knowledge into school and university pedagogy. The research team will do this by creating the first database of community public history initiatives and pedagogical resources in India. The project punctures conventional historical practice by relying on multilingual and multi-ethnic sources and centring community traditions, orality and experiential knowledge. In its conception, design and dissemination the project seeks to bring to the forefront community researchers from marginalised communities who make up the lowest proportion of Indians to engage with formal education to bring their voices to educational spaces. This will benefit local community development and re-valuation of their knowledge resources. It will also enable different audiences in the education sector to develop a new understanding of collective public history at the level.

Dr Shalini Sharma, Keele University; Dr Maya Dodd, FLAME University, India; Dr Aparna Vaidik, Ashoka University, India; Ranjani Prasad, Keystone Foundation, India; Faisal Rehman, Keystone Foundation, India