Sumit Guha's History and Collective Memory in South Asia, 1200–2000 develops important arguments about the public significance of historical knowledge and the essential role of historians in public life. All societies need collective memories to sustain their cultural identities, as Guha shows in this wide‐ranging account of how such memories have been constructed in South Asian societies since the thirteenth century. The knowledge of historical experts is increasingly challenged or derided by contemporary social groups and political activists, who circulate their own historical narratives via new networks of communication. Political uses of historical knowledge are not new, however, as Guha shows in detailed accounts of how Hindu, Muslim, and British imperial regimes all used historical narratives to justify their own power. He also explains how other social groups challenged official historical narratives with their own popular stories about the past. This book contributes to recent work in global intellectual history by comparing similarities in the historical practices of premodern Europe and South Asia, discussing the cross‐cultural exchanges in colonial‐era institutions, and describing postcolonial challenges to European ideas. Guha thus offers an insightful analysis of how social and political forces influence and respond to the cloistered institutions that produce historical knowledge and construct collective memories. He concludes that evidence‐based historical narratives must be continually defended amid current public assaults on historical knowledge in both South Asia and the United States. More generally, Guha's book suggests the need for ongoing analysis of how public events, social conflicts, and new communication systems can reshape or discredit the work of historical experts.

中文翻译：

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建立，控制和挑战历史记忆的持久公共斗争

苏米特·古哈（Sumit Guha）在南亚的历史和集体记忆，1200–2000年提出了有关历史知识的公共意义和历史学家在公共生活中的重要作用的重要论据。正如Guha在从13世纪以来在南亚社会中如何建立这样的记忆的广泛描述中所显示的那样，所有社会都需要集体记忆来维持其文化特性。历史学家的知识正日益受到当代社会团体和政治活动家的挑战或嘲笑，他们通过新的交流网络传播自己的历史叙事。但是，正如古哈（Guha）详细说明印度教，穆斯林和英帝国政权如何都使用历史叙事来证明自己的权力是合理的那样，历史知识在政治上的使用并不新鲜。他还解释了其他社会团体如何用自己对过去的流行故事挑战官方的历史叙事。本书通过比较前现代欧洲和南亚在历史实践中的相似之处，讨论殖民时期机构中的跨文化交流以及描述后殖民对欧洲思想的挑战，为全球知识史上的最新工作做出了贡献。因此，古哈提供了关于社会和政治力量如何影响和回应那些产生历史知识并建立集体记忆的隐蔽机构的深刻分析。他得出结论，在当前公众对南亚和美国历史知识的攻击中，必须不断捍卫基于证据的历史叙述。更普遍地说，古哈