Constructing the Past: The Nineteenth-Century Quest for History and the Rewriting of Medieval India
Call for Papers
Session ID: 7516
This session seeks to explore how the historiography of medieval India was reimagined during the nineteenth century by a range of intellectual actors—including colonial scholars, nationalist thinkers, Dalit reformers, Hindu revivalists, and Muslim scholars. Moving beyond Eurocentric or nationalist binaries, the session investigates how India’s medieval past, from the emergence of the Delhi Sultanate to the decline of the Mughal Empire was actively constructed, contested, and institutionalized in this period.
Contributors are invited to examine the archival, philological, and ideological tools deployed in these historical reconstructions. We particularly welcome papers that address:
* The role of Orientalist and vernacular scholarship in shaping periodization and historical narratives
* The use of translations, manuscript collections, and newly emerging historical genres
* Histories produced within colonial institutions, indigenous intellectual networks, or reformist traditions
* Intersections of caste, community, religion, and region in historical writing
* How 19th-century historiography continues to shape or trouble contemporary understandings of “medieval India”
Through case studies and critical reflections, this panel aims to revisit the epistemological foundations of medieval Indian history and connect them to wider debates in postcolonial and global medieval studies.
Submission Deadline: September 15, 2025
All proposals must be submitted via the ICMS Confex portal:
Submit your abstract here (300 words)