Prof. Shereen Ratnagar, Archaeologist, UoH Visiting Professor of Social Sciences was recently invited by MANTHAN – Forum for Public Discourse for a talk at the Vidyaranya School, opp Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad on Saturday, October 26, 2013.
In her talk and presentation titled ‘Historical Burdens of Past Civilizations’, she spoke about her findings at Harappan and Mohendejaro sites and gave a perspective so different from what is traditionally understood. She stressed how our presently conceived perceptions of history are carried back into the past and our findings are coloured by our present perceptions.
Shereen Ratnagar is currently Visiting Chair Professor at the School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad. Her training at the Universities of Poona (Deccan College) and London (Institute of Archaeology) was in archaeology and at the JNU She wrote her PhD dissertation under the guidance of Romila Thapar on the trade of the Indus valley with cultures in the Gulf and Mesopotamia. She taught for many years at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU, then broke loose and worked on her own, researching and writing books, teaching at the tribal academy at Tejgarh (Gujarat), etc.
Since 2005, Manthan has become the premier platform for thought leaders worldwide to share their thoughts and for high quality debates. Periodic meetings with thought leaders from various fields, open debates on the Yahoo group, presentations followed by debates – ways by which Manthan promotes public discussions, ideas and thoughts. Manthan is owned by Manthan Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based at Hyderabad. The Foundation is managed by a Board consisting of Ajay Gandhi, M R Vikram, Bashir Babu Khan, Chandana Chakrabarti, Kamlesh Gandhi, Manek Daruwala, Madhava Rao K, Rama Mohan Giri, Ravi S, Suheim Sheikh.
By Mr. Ajay Gandhi