Writing History for Children: Reflections on Methods

Speakers: Sharmila Sengupta, Barisha Janakalyan Vidyapith, Authors and editors of ‘Itihase Hatekhori’ book series and Megha Malhotra, History for Peace

Itihashe Hatekhori is a series of illustrated history books meant for middle and high school children, It includes nine books that, taken together, look at various aspects of social, political and economic histories of the subcontinent from an intersectional perspective. The idea has been to introduce the complexities of the discipline in an anecdotal fashion and an accessible language. The purpose of this series is to make the children curious about the past, to develop empathy towards diverse experiences of the past, and to understand the importance of the verifiability of the sources in writing history. The books were written as a part of a project sponsored by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung South Asia. They have now been made available for purchase by Hatekhori Publishers.

Sharmila Sengupta has been an…