Question

Explain the following concept.

Subaltern history

Write a short note on subaltern history.

Answer 1

The term subaltern means ‘bottommost ranks.’ It was Antonio Gramsci who considered it important that history should also include the bottommost rank of society. Thus, the subaltern school of historiography came into existence. Subaltern history became an important academic school of historiography after Ranjit Guha included this concept in his writings. Before this, the idea of including the bottommost ranks in history was taken into consideration by scholars like Mahatma Phule. The term ‘shudras’ or the ‘atishudras’ is used for the bottommost rank. The writings of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar also consider the subaltern school of historiography in his book entitled ‘who were called the shudras’ and ‘The Untouchables.’