 Professor
Romila Thapar is a distinguished historian of modern Asia, and is an internationally
renowned scholar of Indian history, particularly the history of ancient
India. She has made three major contributions to the studies of Indian
history.
First of all, Professor
Thapar has brought an innovative viewpoint to the studies of Indian history.
Before India obtained its independence, two views on Indian history predominated.
One was the notion supported by scholars from Britain, the then ruler
of India, that embraced a historical view of stagnation and regarded India
as, so to speak, "a warehouse of historical facts that Europe had
already lost". The other was a concept, advocated by Indian scholars,
which emerged from the independence movement against Britain. The latter
group of scholars described precolonial Indian society as idyllic and
harmonious without any conflicts. Professor Thapar moved beyond these
traditional views to establish a more scientific method in historical
studies.
Secondly, Professor
Thapar succeeded in presenting Indian history not only as the chronicles
of Indian matters, but also as a regional history in the context of human
history. Conventional research method of ancient India, in particular,
relied on documents written in Sanskrit, and applied a method which traced
the deeds of successive dynasties. Professor Thapar has researched more
varied materials, including oral sources, and has sought to interpret
economic and political documents in their cultural context. Using methodologies
from the fields of cultural anthropology and sociology, in addition to
historical theories, she successfully rebuilt the historical study of
India in the context of world history.
Thirdly, it is noteworthy
that Professor Thapar presents a broad historical description, written
in a lively, animated style. She skillfully and convincingly weaves together
closely correlated facts, derived from disparate sources to paint a coherent
historical picture. It is the kind of work only an exceptionally able
historian can ever produce. Professor Thapar's honorary doctorates and
fellowships from many countries attest to her international renown, and
the fact that, in Japan, her translated works enjoy a large readership
even outside of the Indian Studies circle is another measure of the breadth
of her achievement. Moreover, she has visited Japan several times, and
has had a great influence on Japanese scholars.
These accomplishments
of Professor Romila Thapar have made a great contribution to the advancement
of the study of both Indian history and world history, and thus make her
particularly worthy of receiving the International Academic Prize of the
Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prizes. |
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