RONO HILLS, 8 Jul: The history department of Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) on Friday organised its second workshop on ‘Unsung Heroes of Arunachal Pradesh’ to address the community leaders and give them an update on the ongoing project.
The workshop also aimed at getting inputs from the community leaders to further aid the project.
Speaking on the occasion, project coordinator Prof Ashan Riddi requested all the CBOs to submit documents regarding their respective unsung heroes before 10 August.
He said that not a single unsung freedom fighter should be left out.
Advisory committee member Dr Joram Begi stated that Arunachal does not have any authentic textbook on history “and this project will prove pivotal in preparing a proper history book.”
He said that the project will not only play an important role in discovering forgotten freedom fighters “but also bring up the lesser-known facts and eminent persons of our state.”
He spoke about many Anglo-tribal incidents, and said that “the project should also aim to correct wrong and incorrect facts and chronologies entered in the British record books and documents.”
“The practice of history writing in our state should continue even after the conclusion of this project,” he added.
RGU Registrar Dr NT Rikam emphasised on “early establishment of a centre for Arunachal history and a Buddhist studies centre at RGU, for which, he said, Rs 5 crore has already been allocated.
He said that the research methodology should be thoroughly followed while doing any research work, adding that the project would be “a stepping stone to history writing in Arunachal Pradesh.”
Unsung Heroes Project Core Committee member secretary Dani Sulu highlighted the importance of oral tradition in a society where written history is absent.
He said that every person has a different approach and perspective on history, and that even the British had their own perspective.
“Therefore, all the different perspectives shall be explored to come up with a comprehensive history of the region,” he said.
Prof PK Panigarhi of the political science department said “that every community has their own oral history which should be preserved by writing them down.”
He informed that the three departments of RGU – the Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies, the anthropology department and the history department – are making all-out efforts to write the history of Arunachal Pradesh, and that they should do their work with utmost dedication.
The first session of the workshop was followed by an interaction programme with members of CBOs and local intellectuals.
The workshop was attended by about 200 people from various CBOs, clan organisations, village chiefs, gaon burahs, student leaders and eminent personalities from various clans and tribes.
