The fifth edition of the Kerala History Congress, which drew to a close at Mahatama Gandhi University (MGU) here on Saturday, called for resistance along the Gandhian line to uphold the country’s diverse character.
According to the history congress the ideals of Gandhiji, which also formed the core of the Constitution among that of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and B.R. Ambedkar, indeed contributed to the constitution of secular values upholding diversity. Holding that oral tradition, thoughts and concepts have failed to find a place in Kerala’s history between 13 and 17th century, the congress noted the presence of criticisms on the caste system and thoughts of renaissance in Pachallur Pathika, Thekkan Pattukal and Chengannur Athikadhaganangal. Rakesh Batabyal of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Abdul Razak from Calicut University and Rekha Raj from MGU spoke at a special session on Gandhiji.
The session on History and Contemporary Kerala was managed by K.N. Ganesh, T.T. Sreekumar and K.S. Madhavan.