The second edition of the Kerala History Conference began at Providence Women’s College here on Friday with a call to set up an institute for the study of Kerala History and Culture. Margret Frenz, professor of history, St. Cross College, University of Oxford, opened the three-day event.
Dr. Frenz, a sixth generation member of the family of German scholar and linguist Hermann Gundert, delivered the keynote address on the occasion. Speaking on the topic ‘Gundert’s Kerala - Kerala’s Gundert,’ Dr. Frenz said that while Gundert’s Kerala was hardly visible anymore, Kerala’s Gundert was increasingly ingrained in the daily and scholarly life of contemporary Kerala.
Narrating the story of Mr. Gundert’s long and passionate connection with the State and its socio-linguistic and cultural milieu, she maintained that Mr. Gundert was probably the only foreigner to have secured a ‘special’ position in the hearts of Malayalis for several positive reasons. “It was a unique bond, which continues still,” she said.
Presiding over the event, historian and chairman of the conference M.G.S. Narayanan said it was extremely important to fill up the many small gaps in the history of Kerala making use of all the available sources in diverse disciplines. “For this, an institute of Kerala History and Culture with different departments will have to be established,” he said, pointing out that such an institute could ‘coordinate’ and ‘standardise’ the results of research in different fields and come out with a comprehensive history of Kerala. Maintaining that it would be a great starting point towards making a scientific history of Kerala, Prof. Narayanan said that it could put an end to several ‘anachronistic’ legends associated with the State’s history, including about Parasurama, St. Thomas and Malik-Ibn-Dinar, and replace them with concrete facts arranged in chronological order.
Principal A.C. Neetha welcomed the gathering. Secretary of the conference K. Gopalankutty; Wilma John, former head of the department of history at the college; and P. Priyadarsini, assistant professor of the department of history; spoke.
