Sources of History

History
 History is the study of past and future events. People know what happened in the past by looking at
things from the past including sources (like books, newspapers, and letters) and artifacts (like
pottery, tools, and human or animal remains.) ...
 A person who studies history is called a historian.
 History is really important because it helps us understand why we live the way we are living and why
we are where we are as a species and country. Studying history allow to learn from the mistakes of
our ancestors so we do not do the same things they did and work to become a better place.
 The four periods of history are: The Ancient Time Period. “In the beginning God created…” The first
thing we learn about God is that He is a creator and really, the only true creator. ...
 Medieval and Renaissance Time Period. -400 A.D. – 1600. ...
 Early Modern Time Period. 1600-1850. ...
 The Modern Time Period. 1850-Present.
 Today, History has been divided into 6 different types: Political History, Diplomatic History, Cultural
History, Social History, Economic History, Intellectual History.
 Herodotus has been called the “father of history.” An engaging narrator with a deep interest in the
customs of the people he described, he remains the leading source of original historical information
not only for Greece between 550 and 479 BCE but also for much of western Asia and Egypt at that
Sources of History
• We can study history with the help of various sources like written
sources, material sources, oral sources and sources in the audio-visual
medium.
Archives
 The place where historical documents are preserved is
called ‘Archives’.
 Themain office of the National Archives of India is at New
Delhi. It is the largest among the Archives in Asia.
Written Sources
 Newspapers
 Periodicals
 Encyclopedias
 Correspondence
 Diaries
 Government Gazettes
 Documents in the Archives
 Postage Stamps
 Reference books
Written Sources : Newspapers
 Newspapers are considered the fourth pillar of democracy in the modern period,
they are also a major medium of information.
 With liberalization and widespread use of internet in India, an alternative for
print media became available.
 Through newspapers, we can get information about national and international
affairs, politics, art, sports, literature and social and cultural affairs.
 Newspapers contain matters related to human life. Most national newspapers
have started their regional editions. They publish supplements that give
information about various topics.
 Newsletters of various movements, the dailies or weeklies of political parties,
monthly and annual magazines are important among the print media.
 Some newspapers produce special supplements towards the end of the year that
take an overview of the important events of the year.
Press Trust of India (PTI)
 After 1953, the Press Trust of India has been an important source of
primary details of all important events and of articles on important
subjects.
 Press Trust of India has provided reports, photographs and articles on
financial and scientific issues to newspapers. PTI has now started its
online service.
 During the 1990s, PTI started using the ‘satellite broadcast’
technology instead of tele-printers to send news all over the country.
 This material is important for writing the history of modern India.
 Among the print media, the information contained in the annual
issues of the Publications Division of the Government of India is
authentic and trustworthy.
INDIA 2000
 The Information and Broadcasting Department published INDIA 2000, an annual
reference book. This reference book is created under ‘Research, Reference and
Training Department’.
 It contains useful information about the land, its people, national emblems,
political system, defense, education, cultural events and an account of the
developments in the fields of science and technology, environment, health and
family welfare, social welfare, media of mass communications along with basic
data, related to economics, finance, planning, agriculture, water conservation,
rural development, food and civil supplies, energy, industries, trade and
commerce, transport, communication, labour, housing, laws and statutes, youth
and sports departments, etc.
 It is possible for us to write history with the help of such information.
Postage Stamps
 Postage stamps reveal a lot to us about changing times due

to the variety in the sizes of the stamps, the novelty in their
subjects and colour schemes.
 The Postal Department issues postage stamps on a wide

variety of themes like political leaders, flowers, animals,
birds, an event, or the silver, golden, diamond jubilees or
centenary, bicentenary, tercentenary of different events. It
is therefore a valuable repository of history.
‘Jal Cooper’ stamp
 The Indian government issued the ‘Jal Cooper’ stamp in 1977.
 Jal Cooper was an internationally acclaimed philatelist, i.e. an expert on the
subject of ‘postage stamps’.
 Born in a Parsi household in Mumbai, Cooper edited ‘India’s Stamp Journal’.
 He was the founder of the first Philatelic Bureau in India, an office that collected
stamps.
 He founded the ‘Empire of India Philatelic Society’.
 He went on to write many books on this subject.
 He played a pivotal role in taking the study of Indian postage stamps to the
international level.
 Having started his career as a postage stamp collector, Cooper achieved the
expertise of a philatelist at the international level.
 The postage stamp on Jal Cooper is an important source to understand his
Material sources
Places of worship
Royal Seals
Ornaments
Museums
Modern architecture
Things in daily use
Clothing
Coins
Coins and currency notes
 We can also understand history with the help of coins and the changes in
the printing of currency notes.
 Reserve Bank of India prints the notes.
 It has its headquarters in Mumbai.
 The coins from 1950 to those used at present, the metals used for
making them, their different shapes, the diversity of subjects on them
together help us to understand the important contemporary issues in
India.
 E.g.: coins to convey the message of population control and coins
communicating the importance of agriculture and of farmers.
Museums
 AllStates of India have museums that depict the
characteristics and display the cultural and social heritage of
the State.
 They enable us to understand history (e.g., the Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Museum at Mumbai, Reserve Bank Museum in
Pune city).
 Apart from the Government Museums, some private
collectors also set up their own museums.
 They are based on distinctive subjects. e.g., coins, notes,
lamps and nutcrackers in different shapes, cricket
equipment, etc.
Oral sources
 Oral sources include folktales, folksongs, proverbs, ballads and owis

(Marathi verses in the oral tradition).
 Activists were inspired by the powadas of Lokshahir Anna Bhau Sathe and
Shahir Amar Sheikh during the Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement.
 As an example of how some event gets reflected in literature and how a
poet perceives that event, study the poem ‘Aavahan’ written on the
backdrop of the Sino-Indian war by the noted Marathi poet Kusumagraj.
Audio-visual sources
 Audio-visual sources : Television, films, internet are

called ‘Audio-visual media’.
 Many domestic and foreign television channels also
come under this head, e.g., History channel, Discovery
channel, etc.
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)
 The Government of India started the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune
in 1960 with the purpose of providing public education.
 An institute called Indian News Review has produced various newsreels on
important events in politics, social issues, art, sports and culture.
 This Department has also produced various documentaries on prominent social
leaders, on people who have made major contributions for the country and about
important locations in India.
 These news releases and documentaries are useful for studying the history of
modern India.
Conclusion
 The times in the 21st century are changing so rapidly, that even these sources will
prove to be inadequate.
 However, new sources are coming forth. For example, during the transformation
from land line telephone to cellphones, a gadget called ‘pager’ came up for
contacting people. But it died out as quickly as it had come up.
 The huge amount of information available on the Internet is used for studying
history, but the truth and authenticity of this information needs to be verified.
 Now it has become comparatively easy to study history with the all these sources.
 As these sources are from the contemporary period, they are easily available.
 Since a subject like history touches all the aspects of our lives, efforts for
preservation of such sources are made at all levels. We should also contribute to
this effort.

Sources of History

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History

 Postage stamps reveal a lot to us about changing times due

 The Postal Department issues postage stamps on a wide

 Oral sources include folktales, folksongs, proverbs, ballads and owis

 Audio-visual sources : Television, films, internet are

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