Sources of History- India after Independence

The powerpoint covers sources of Indian histoy after post-independence era. It includes written, material, oral and audio-visual sources.

1. SOURCES OF
HISTORY
India after Independence
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2. What is Sources?
Anyleftoverofthepastcanbeconsideredasthesource.
Itcouldbeofdocumentordairieswrittenbyawitnessora
participantoftheevent.
Itcouldbeofwrittensources,materialsources,oralsourcesand
othersourceslikeaudio-visualmedium.
Thesourcescanbefirsthandtestimonyorevidencecreatedduringthe
timeperiodthatyouarestudying.
Ashistoryisevolvingsodoitssources.Sourcesofmodernhistoryare
differentfromthoseofancientandmedievalhistory.
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3. Itprovideusinformationofthepasteventwhichcanbeadded
toourknowledge.
Forexample,thediaryofAnneFrankisabookofwritingskept
bya13-year-oldJewishgirlAnneFrankwhileshewasinhiding
fortwoyearswithherfamilyduringtheNazioccupationofthe
Netherlands.
ThedairywasafirsthandsourceoftheWorldWarIIwhen
NetherlandswasinvadedbyNaziwhichresultedtomasskilling
ofJewpeople.
What is Sources?
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4. Notonlywrittentexts,butalsoabuilding,forts,coins,ornaments,folksongsandapieceof
artcanbeconsideredassources.Becausetheyprovideusinformationofthepastevent
whichcanbeaddedtoourknowledge.
What is Sources?
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AGA KHAN PALACE
Forexample,AgaKhanPalacelocatedinPune
preservespaintings,photographsandotherobjects
thatgivesinformationaboutthelifeofMahatma
Gandhi.
Potsherd,Inscriptionsonarock,coinsand
ornamentsaresomeofthesourcesofancient
history.
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5. Written Sources
Postage
Stamps
Government Gazettes
Diaries
Correspondence
Documents in
the Archives
Reference
books
Magazine
Newspapers
Encyclopedias
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6. Written Sources:Newspaper
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Justasnewspapersareconsideredthefourthpillar
ofdemocracyinthemodernperiod,theyarealsoa
majormediumofinformation.
Forexample,thearticlesof‘IndiaIndependent:
Britishruleends’,GovernorswornisasFreeIndiais
bornandhomagetothefatherofthenationon
August15,1947providesinformationaboutIndian
independenceeventtopresentworld.
Notonlyincludenationalandinternationalaffairs,it
alsotalksaboutart,sports,literature,socialand
culturalandmattersrelatedtohumanlife.
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7. Written Sources:Newspaper
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Anotherexampleisthearticle‘Kashmiraccedesto
India’.ItprovidesdialoguesbetweenfirstPrime
MinisterofIndiaJawaharlalNehruandMaharaja
HariSingh.
Therefore,newspaperisconsideredtobevaluable
sourcestoknowaboutpost-independenceeraofthe
country.Tillnow,theprintmediacontinuetobe
powerful.
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8. Written Sources:Newspaper
TheLargestnewsagencyinIndiathatcoversallimportant
eventsofallsubjectssince1947isPressTrustofIndia(PTI).
PressTrustofIndiahasbeenprovidingphotographs,reports
andarticlesonfinancialandscientificissuestoNewspapers.
PTIhasstarteditsonlineservice;during1990s,PTIstarted
distributionofcontentusingsatellitebroadcasttechnology
insteadoftele-printers.Thisnewsagencyisimportantfor
writingthehistoryofpost-Indiaindependence.
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Tele-printers
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9. Written Sources:Magazine
Magazineisalsoconsideredoneoftheimportant
sourcesasitprovidesinformationoftheparticular
eventinverydetailedform.
Forexample,SardarVallabhbhai,India’sfirsthome
ministerappearedonTIMEMagazine’scoverpagein
January1947.
HewasthemanbehindunitedIndiathatwesee
today.
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10. Written Sources:Magazine
Anotherexample,TIMEMagazinefeaturedsecond
PrimeMinisteronitscoverpageinAugust1965
issue.
TheTIMEcoversaid“Tinyandturkey-necked,shy
asaschoolboyinhisrumpleddhotiandbrown
loafers,Shastribothmatchesthediminished
statureofIndiaandreflectsitsinchoatestrength.”
IfoneneedtostudyandlearnaboutIndiaafterit
gotindependence,thenhe/shehastoreadupon
articlesfeaturedinmagazineduringthetimeperiod
oftheevent.
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11. Written Sources:Reference book
Alongwithnewspapersandmagazine,theinformationcontainedintheannualreference
bookisauthenticandtrustworthy.
Forexample,theinformationandbroadcastingdepartmentpublished‘India2000’,an
annualreferencebook.
Thebookcontainsusefulinformationabouttheland,itspeople,nationalemblems,
politicalsystem,education,culturaleventsandanaccountofthedevelopmentsinthe
fieldsofscience,health,environment,healthandfamilywelfare,ruraldevelopment,
transportetc.
Annualreferencebookgivesalltheimportanteventsthathappenedthroughoutthe
yearwithadetailedexplanation.Thisbookisveryimportantforstudentsapplyingfor
UPSCandothergovernmentexaminations.
11Created by Gracy Esthar

12. Written Sources:Postage Stamps
Postagestampsdorevealalotofinformationabout
changingtimesduetothevarietyinthesizesofthe
stamps,thenoveltyintheirsubjectsandcolour
schemes.
Thepostaldepartmentissuespostagestampsona
widevarietyofthemeslikepoliticalleaders,flowers,
birds,animals,andanevent.
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Forexample,aftertheremovalofBritishrule,thefirstindependentstampswereproducedin
threesetsdepictingtheIndianflag,AsokancapitalandaDouglasDC-4plane.Allthreestamps
bearinscriptionof‘JaiHind’.
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13. Written Sources:Postage Stamps
SecondexampleisthestampreleasedayearafterIndia
gotindependenceforcommemoratingMahatmaGandhi
whohadbeenassassinatedearlierthatyear.
Anotherexampleis‘JalCooper’stampissuedin1977by
theIndiangovernment.JalCooperwasaninternationally
acclaimedphilatelisti.e.anexpertonthesubjectof
postagestamps.
Therefore,postagestampsisavaluablerepositoryof
history.
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14. Written Sources:Diaries & Archives
Fifthly,diariesareconsideredasoneofthesourcesthatis
usedinwritinghistory.Theyareshort,privateaccountsof
andreactionstodailyevents.
Ithelpsyouunderstandtheirhumanemotions,values,and
attitudesofthepastandhowitrecordseventsofpeople’s
livesinchronologically.
Evenlettersareconsideredtobesourcesofhistory.
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Lastly,thedocumentsinthearchivesarealsooneofthewrittensources.Archivesisthe
placewherehistoricaldocumentsarecollectedandpreserved.
ThemainofficeofthenationalarchivesofIndiaisatNewDelhi.Itisthelargestamongthe
archivesofIndia.
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15. Material Sources
Royal Seals
Ornaments
Museums
Modern
Architecture
Places of
Worship
Things in daily use
Coins
Clothing
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Material sources are basically non-written sources. They are those that comes under
the category of artifacts and architectural resources.
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16. Material Sources:Coins
R
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The coins from 1950 to those used at present, the metals used for making them, their
different shapes from, and the diversity of subjects on them together help us to
understand the important contemporary issues of India.
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Withthehelpofcoinsandthechangesintheprintingofcurrencynotes,onecan
understandthehistoryofIndia.
Thestudyofcoinsprovidesinformationaboutthenamesofthekingorqueenofthe
time.Somecoinsofthepasthadimageoftherulingkingofthattime,andprintedyear
andalsoengravedwords.
AfterIndia’sindependencein1947,therewasaneedtointroducenewcoinsforanew
nation.Therefore,withthehelpofanengraverandartistPatrickBrindley,aseriesof
coinswereintroducedon15thAugust1950.
TheKing'sPortraitwasreplacedbytheLionCapitaloftheAshokaPillar.Acornsheaf
replacedtheTigerontheoneRupeecoin.Insomewaysthissymbolizedashiftinfocus
toprogressandprosperity.
Material Sources:Coins
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Material Sources:Museums
RBI Museum
Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum
Museumsarebuildingsinwhichwecanseethingsof
artistic,cultural,historicalandtraditionalobjects.
Theyalsodisplaytheculturalandsocialheritageof
thestate,anddepictthestoryofaprominentleader,
andbasedondistinctivesubjectslikecoins,notes,
lamps,cricketequipmentetc.
Theyenableustounderstandhistory.
Forexample,thechhatrapatiShivajiMaharajMuseum
atMumbai,ReserveBankMuseumsinPunecityand
ManiBhavanMuseumatMumbai.
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19. Material Sources:Museums
Mani Bhavan is a museum and historical building dedicated
for Mahatma Gandhi. It was the focal point for Gandhi’s
political activities in Mumbai between 1917 and 1934.
Through all these things we can come to know how our
forefathers lived, how they communicated and what
things they made.
Museums helps you understand about a leader or a
distinctive subjects like coins, cricket equipment in detail
as it connects a good amount of information along with
relevant images, photographs and artifacts.
Therefore, Museums are also called storehouse of
history.
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Oral Sources
Oralsourcerelatestothatcategoryofhistoricalinformation
whichistransmittedfromgrouptogrouporfromone
generationtoanotherbymeansoforaltransmission.
Oftenthosewhowritethiswrittenhistoryheraldfromthe
‘elite’classesandtherefore,failtosufficientlyrepresentthe
viewsandsentimentsofthemasses.
Theabsenceoftexts,suchasdiariesandjournals,especiallybycommoners,only
exacerbatesthisgap,givingrisetowhatEricWolf,ananthropologist,called‘people
withoutahistory’.
Thesesourcesincludefolktales,proverbs,balladsandowis(Marathiversesintheoral
tradition)arecalledoralsources.
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Oral Sources
Forexample,Powadaisawell-knowngenreof
Marathiliterature.
Itisagenreofballads,originallysungbythe
membersoftheGondhalcaste,whichisaDalit
community.Post-Shivaji,allcastesadoptedit.
DuringtheIndependencestruggle,powadasbecame
thesongsofnationalmovementand,after
Independence,ofpeople’smovements.
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Audio-Visual Sources
Audio-visualservicesplayacrucialandformativeroleinanysociety.Thesemediumare
closelylinkedtothepreservationofculturalidentityandsocialvalues,andplayamajorrole
inshapingpublicopinion,safeguardingdemocraticsystemanddevelopingcreativepotential.
Television,films,internetarecalled‘Audio-visualmedia’.Manydomesticandforeign
televisionchannelsalsocomeunderthissources.
TheFilmandTelevisionInstituteofIndia(FTII)wasestablishedin
theyear1960andwasformerlyknownthe'FilmInstituteofIndia'.
ItwasadepartmentoftheMinistryofInformationandBroadcasting
oftheGovernmentofIndia.
In1971,FTIIcametobeknownasthe'FilmandTelevisionInstitute
ofIndia'(FTII)andsoonstartedin-servicetrainingprogramsfor
Doordarshan,India'spublicbroadcaster.
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TheTelevisionTrainingwing,whichwasearlierfunctioningin
NewDelhi,shiftedtoPunein1974.Thereafter,theinstitute
becamefullyaidedbytheMinistryofInformationand
Broadcasting.
AninstitutecalledIndianNewsReviewhasproducedvarious
newsreelsonimportanteventsinpolitical,socialissues,art,
sports,andculture.
Audio-Visual Sources
Thisdepartmenthasalsoproducedvariousdocumentariesonprominentleaders,onpeoplewho
havemademajorcontributionsforthecountryandaboutimportantlocationsinIndia.
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Conclusion
Sourceshelpusunderstandhowsocietyhasevolvedtopresentage;ithelpsus
understandthelifeofourforefathersandhowsignificanteventschangedtheirlives
upsidedown.
Sourceskeepchangingasthesocietychangesandgetsadaptedtonewtechnology.
Forexample,during1960,peopleusedlandlinetelephonetotransmitinformation
thatwasexchangedwithcellphones.
Soon,itdiedoutandnowcitizensgetupdatedaboutwhat’shappeningaroundthe
worldwiththehelpofsocialmedia.Thoughsocialmediaprovidesagreatamountof
information,thetruthandauthenticityneedtobeverified.
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References
https://ftii.ac.in/p/about-ftii
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4367692?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
https://icrier.org/pdf/avpaper.pdf
https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/prospective-undergrads/virtual-classroom/historical-
sources-what
https://www.ancient.eu/article/1048/sources-of-history/
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26. 26
Thank you
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