Hyderabad: Expressing concern over history been sidelined for decades, heritage experts on Friday stressed the urgent need to bring it back into the mainstream. At the History Literary Fest held at the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, historians, conservationists and educators came together to highlight India’s forgotten past and its relevance to the present.The travelling festival, now in its fourth edition, aims to build awareness of India’s cultural legacy and the many historic structures that exist across the country.Tejaswini Yerlagadda of the Pleach India Foundation said a large section of the population remains unaware of its own heritage. “Almost 80% of the country still needs to be educated about heritage and the treasures we are sitting on,” she said, stressing the need to present history in ways that resonate with younger generations.Drawing from her own experience with her children, she spoke about how Western narratives dominate social media and shape aspirations, even as India possesses equally rich stories that are poorly communicated. “We are sitting on such wealth, but we don’t know how to market it in the right way,” she said.An exhibition curated by the foundation showcased inscriptions, ancient tools, and Mesolithic and Neolithic markings, offering visitors a tangible glimpse into Telangana’s layered past.A key panel discussion focused on two influential 20th-century statesmen, M Visvesvaraya and KM Panikkar, through the books ‘Engineering a Nation: The Life and Career of M Visvesvaraya’ by Aparajith Ramnath and ‘A Man for All Seasons: The Life of KM Panikkar’ by Narayani Basu.Historian Amar Farooqui underlined that both figures were shaped by their long engagement with princely states and the Deccan. He pointed out that Visvesvaraya spent nearly 25 years in the Deccan region, experiences that profoundly influenced his thinking as an engineer and administrator.Author Aparajith Ramnath highlighted Visvesvaraya’s critical role in Hyderabad following the devastating Musi floods of 1908. “Invited by the Nizam govt, Visvesvaraya proposed the construction of two major reservoirs upstream and a modern drainage system — interventions that laid the foundation for Hyderabad’s urban modernisation. His engineering background strongly shaped his vision of civic planning and infrastructure-led development,” he said.Writer Narayani Basu spoke about KM Panikkar’s wide-ranging career as a historian, journalist, diplomat and public intellectual, and his deep engagement with questions of nationalism, citizenship and India’s place in the world. Panikkar, she noted, was “impossible to categorise”, with his work spanning both colonial India and the early decades of independence.The organisers reinforced the festival’s central message. “History must be reclaimed, communicated and woven back into public consciousness. We are overwhelmed by the response and hope for more discussions in the coming days,” said Rakesh Basant, co-founder of the fest.
