Like Right, the “Liberals” Feed On WA University of their Own
Left-leaning and centrist individuals, including academics, often dismiss any historical interpretation that doesn’t align with their views as “WhatsApp University gyaan.” Ironically, they frequently feature commentators and experts who, despite lacking formal historical training, present their own potentially biased accounts of the past.
For instance, take Ram Punyani who often discusses history on prestigious podiums; as a matter of fact, he’s a medical researcher & doctor by profession. His ‘interest’ into history cannot deem him fit to speak authoritatively on historical FACTS. But he’s invited because he speaks what our comrades WANT TO HEAR!
Similarly, its hilarious how our centrist pals & comrades simp at the mention of Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru as ‘seminal historical text’, often used as reference. But was Nehru a qualified historian to compile the complex history of Hindustan into his (derivative) writing? As far as I know, Nehru had an honors degree in Natural Science & he studied Law later. So, a Natural Science student cum lawyer writing history is taken as fact, rest all oral historical accounts of regional India are cancelled as myths, right?
Another historian has emerged with the JNU tag up her sleeve, Ruchika Sharma, who’s surprisingly garnered YouTube views through her makeup tutorials & (deliberately) plunging necklines! She follows the typical Bigg Boss aspirant formula to rake controversy, play victimhood & feature in media spotlight. Such are the desperate times that cheap gimmicks like these are being used by JNU graduate historians to stay relevant.
Even Prof Purushottam Agarwal, who speaks authoritatively on history on public forums, is a Writer, who’s a PhD holder in Hindi literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, specializing in the social meaning of Kabir’s Bhakti. And what’s interesting is how half of us take his opinion on ‘history’ as the ‘Brahmvaak’.
Another celebrated historian of the Hindi readership is Ashok Kumar Pandey, who wrote the history of Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits & then, Savarkar, Gandhi killing etc. But technically speaking, even Pandey is not a ‘qualified’ historian per se, because he’s been a student of Economics. Yet, ironically, he runs a YouTube channel called ‘The “Credible” History’. The joke’s on us all!
It deeply angers me when academics dismiss historical references and sources cited by non-historians with opposing viewpoints, regardless of their authenticity. At the same time, these same academics readily praise and celebrate non-historians who simply repeat their own chorus line narrative.
The selective and ideologically driven approach of historians and academics, who allegedly cherry-pick historical versions to their liking, has created an alternative historical discourse which they dismiss as “WhatsApp University Gyaan.” This is compounded by their willingness to amplify unqualified voices that align with their views, while actively silencing and burying the perspectives of even qualified individuals who dare to question their established historical narratives.