Abstract
This article on extending the archive beyond its traditional avatar is intended for the researcher and enthusiast in contemporary history, those doing oral history and students and teachers offering courses in historical method.1 The process that I wish to highlight is the movement of historical study and research beyond the confines of the written archives, away from the official records, to the village chaupals and fields of the peasants, to the offices of trade unions, to factory canteens, to simple homes, where people gather, meet and live their lives. I discuss one such trend, namely, oral history, which has energized the field of history. In the second part of the article, I take a close look at two oral history initiatives to explore issues of methodology and ethics, as well as the transformative aspects of the exercise. The first is the project (of which I was a member) sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research on the history of the freedom movement, conducted by professors and researchers at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU); and the second, testimonies of the survivors/victims of the Partition recorded by researchers.
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