Oral history in India

History was crafted out of "facts", said the British historian E H Carr. Facts, which were like "fish on a fishmonger's slab". What is "official" history, whose history it documents and whose it skips, has been a concern for historians the world over for several decades now.  A bunch of Indian documentors, who believe there are other fish in the sea than official histories acknowledge, will gather in Bangalore on Monday and formally inaugurate the country's first Oral History Association of India (OHAI). From discussing how life was for Indian freedom fighters in Cellular Jail on the Andamans to looking at memories of 1984 riots and the Bhopal gas tragedy, the conference will be a broad palette for documentors and historians. For full story click here.