Prof. Achuta Rao Memorial History Conference on Ancient India held in Manipal

Manipal, December 27, 2017: Prof. Achuta Rao Memorial History Conference was inaugurated at Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities on the 27th December by Dr. Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). The conference was held in honour of noted historian Prof. D S Achuta Rao, the professor from Mysore University, who unravelled the social and administrative history of Mysore through a study of contemporary materials available from the periods 1600 and 1800. The legacy of Professor Achuta Rao, who passed away at 47 in 1965, is resurrected through a series of events through 2017 under the aegis the DSA Memorial Endowment.

Prof. Rao had made a mark for himself through meticulous research which brought into the limelight much of Mysore’s forgotten history.The year 2017 has seen four significant events for serious historians of India. The events, conducted in this centennial year, have demonstrated a wide range of interests, and have brought together many internationally renowned historians from Cambridge to Japan to South-East Asia.

An exhibition on his Life and Works conceived by his granddaughter Surabhi Prasanna was opened by Dr. M.S. Valiathan, former Vice Chancellor of MAHE. Professor Upinder Singh, a noted Historian from Delhi University delivered the Keynote Address titled ‘Ancient India-Looking Beyond India into Asia’

The final eventof the three part series involved a re-imagination of ancient India as being part of a larger civilizational continuum that includes several ancient civilizations of AsiaSpeaking on the occasion Dr. Upinder Singh said ‘Understanding the travel of texts and political Ideas from India into Asia in the ancient times can enrich our understanding of this millennium. We need to reconstruct the movement of ideas in the ancient world’

Renowned scholars and historians also presented papers on megaliths and later monuments, Mushikavamsa of Atula and historical sense of Ancient Indians, early Chalukya landscapes etc.

Dr. Nikhil Govind Head of MCPH said, ‘Holding this history conference at Manipal has enhanced the reputation of MAHE in liberal arts, helping us to attract thought leaders in Humanities to come to Manipal to teach History.’

Speaking on the occasion,Mr. D A Prasanna Convener of Prof. Achuta Rao Centenary Programme said ‘The three conferences in the centenary year brought 35 leading history scholars who stimulated new thought in modern, medieval and ancient Indian history. These reflect research values Achuta Rao stood for’