Idea of India is of recent vintage: Prof

chandigarh: The Department of History, PU, organised Hari Ram Gupta Memorial Lecture on the theme: Unity in Diversity: Pluralism in India, on Thursday. Prof Sucheta Mahajan, chairperson, Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, analysed the theme of unity in diversity and evaluated plural traditions in India from a historical perspective. She pointed out that the idea of India did not go back to ancient times, it was of recent vintage. "The concept of a nation in the making is useful in understanding the process of development of nationalism, she added. “The constitution of India was rooted in this historical legacy of the freedom struggle. The diversity must be upheld in the face of grave challenges today,” she said. Prof Ronki Ram, Former Dean of Arts, presided over the function and also highlighted various approaches towards the nation. The idea of the nation among ordinary people was different from both academicians as well as the state. Prof Anju Suri highlighted the contribution of Prof Hari Ram Gupta who was the first Head of Department of History, PU. — TNS