25/09/2026
The Department of English, Banaras Hindu University - Varanasi, hosted an intellectually stimulating lecture series by Professor Makarand Paranjape, distinguished scholar, public intellectual, former Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and former Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. The lectures brought together important questions concerning Indian intellectual traditions, nationalism, Hindutva, Hind Swaraj, history, literature, and the ways in which knowledge about India is constructed and transmitted. The programme was honoured by the presence of the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Professor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, whose participation added particular significance to the academic engagement. Prof. Devender Kumar, the coordinator of Anveshana: The Researcher’s Forum moderated the sessions.
The first lecture, titled “Hindutva and Hind Swaraj: Revolution, Reform and Reconciliation” explored the intellectual relationship and differences between Mahatma Gandhi and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Professor Paranjape called for a critical and dispassionate engagement with both thinkers, cautioning against placing historical figures beyond criticism. Drawing on the idea of anvikshiki, or critical inquiry, he examined their contrasting approaches to violence and non-violence, nationalism, social reform, caste, and independence. He also distinguished between azaadi and swaraj, presenting swaraj as a deeper conception of self-rule and self-realisation. Situating these questions within the intellectual history of Kashi, he invoked figures such as Kabir, Tulsidas, Ravidas, and Malaviya, while questioning simplistic binaries such as traditional/modern, conservative/progressive, and Hindu/Muslim.
The Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, responded to the lecture by appreciating Professor Paranjape’s wide-ranging scholarship, diverse references, and intellectual fearlessness. He particularly noted the significance of bringing Hindutva and Hind Swaraj within the same analytical frame, allowing these important strands of Indian intellectual history to be examined together rather than in isolation. Professor Chaturvedi also emphasised the importance of reading books comprehensively and encouraged students and scholars to engage seriously and critically with complete works instead of depending on fragments, excerpts, or selective interpretations. His response underscored the value of sustained reading and rigorous intellectual engagement in academic life.
The lecture also opened up a wider discussion on caste, religious pluralism, nationalism, civil disobedience, citizenship, and the relationship between morality and political power. Professor Paranjape emphasised that Hinduism, Hind Swaraj, and India should be understood as works in progress rather than closed systems, requiring both critical engagement with India’s civilizational inheritance and accommodation of diverse traditions. The subsequent interaction with the audience addressed the meaning of Hindutva, Gandhi and Savarkar’s positions on caste, misinformation and selective interpretation on social media, religious responsibility, and the ethical dimensions of political power. Professor Paranjape reiterated the importance of principled protest and intellectual inquiry, while stressing that India’s plural character calls for accommodation rather than forced homogenisation.
The second lecture, titled “Literature and History” extended the conversation to the relationship between history, literature, memory, and truth. Professor Paranjape examined how categories concerning India and Indians have been shaped through external linguistic and historiographical frameworks, and questioned the longstanding assumption that India lacked a historical consciousness. His discussion ranged from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, arguing that historical memory and literary traditions cannot simply be dismissed as non-historical because they do not conform to modern European historiographical models. Drawing on thinkers such as Hayden White, Trevelyan, and E. H. Carr, he further explored how selection, interpretation, and narrative structure influence the writing of history.
The concluding discussion emphasised the need for both synchronic and diachronic approaches to Indian history and for a critical engagement with colonial historiography as well as forms of Indian exceptionalism. Professor Paranjape also stressed the continuing importance of qualitative interpretation, literary sensibility, and critical inquiry in an academic environment increasingly inclined towards quantitative approaches. Professor Sanjay Kumar contributed to the discussion by reflecting on the complementary relationship between history and literature and the possibility of understanding subjectivity and objectivity as coexisting rather than mutually exclusive categories. Professor Paranjape also presented a copy of Hindutva and Hind Swaraj: History’s Unforgotten Ideas to Annveshan for the research scholars’ room. The series concluded with Professor Prabha Shankar Dwivedi’s vote of thanks, reflecting on the idea of Itihasa and the intimate relationship between history, literature, memory, narrative, and rasa.
