Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal
Encyclopedia
Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, popularly known as Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal or just ‘Mandal’, is an Indian institute providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is located at Pune
in Maharashtra
state. The institute was founded in 1910 by the veteran Indian historian V.K. Rajwade and Sardar K.C. Mehendale.
to form another institute which was named after him as ‘Rajwade Sanshodhan Mandir’. The Mandal at Pune, however, continued following on its mission to help researchers and contribute to the progress of historical study. It has since then been highly supported by the people and scholars by way of donations and bequests of books and papers. Rajwade’s disciples Datto Vaman Potdar
and Ganesh Hari Khare are believed to have played major role in prospering the Mandal and its activities.
, Modi
, Persian
, Portuguese and English languages. Moreover, it has also preserved over , and a few sculptures and inscriptions in its well equipped museum. The Mandal’s library keeps a more than books written mainly in Marathi and English which can be available to the researchers for free reading or for a nominal fee on ‘Take Home’ basis. These resources hold sizeable volumes on the history of Maratha Empire
, Maratha culture and Marathi literature. They also contain a large collection of the material on British Rule as well as Mughal
Rule over India. The Mandal issues a Quarterly Journal called ‘Trai-Masik’ wherein essays and articles on new discoveries are presented. It has also published books written and edited by veteran historians and reports of annual conferences and historians' meets. The Mandal periodically organises lectures, workshops, training, seminars and study tours for the young researchers and historians.
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
state. The institute was founded in 1910 by the veteran Indian historian V.K. Rajwade and Sardar K.C. Mehendale.
Objective
The main objective behind setting up the Mandal was to provide ready resources to the historians and researchers, to save their time and to motivate them. Rajwade conceived this idea long back but could not fulfill it until Sardar Mehendale met him and on his own expressed his readiness to support him for anything that he wished to do for the betterment of history.History
The Mandal was founded on 7 July 1910 by the veteran Indian historian Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade and Sardar Khanderao Chintaman Mehendale at Sardar Mehendale’s palace at Appa Balwant Chowk in Pune. To commence the activity Rajwade read an essay in the presence of the only listener Sardar Mehendale. Later on, the Mandal moved to its present building located in Sadashiv Peth area in the heart of the city. In March 1926 the short tempered Rajwade left Pune due to differences with the then Administrators of the Mandal and shifted to DhuleDhule
Dhule is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Dhule district in northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India. It is one of the very few well-planned cities of India before Indian Independence.-Geography:Dhule is located at...
to form another institute which was named after him as ‘Rajwade Sanshodhan Mandir’. The Mandal at Pune, however, continued following on its mission to help researchers and contribute to the progress of historical study. It has since then been highly supported by the people and scholars by way of donations and bequests of books and papers. Rajwade’s disciples Datto Vaman Potdar
Datto Vaman Potdar
Dattatray Vaman Potdar , better known as Datto Vaman Potdar, was an eminent Indian historian, writer, and orator. He was the Vice-Chancellor of University of Pune during 1961 - 1964....
and Ganesh Hari Khare are believed to have played major role in prospering the Mandal and its activities.
Resources
Presently, the Mandal maintains more than 1,500,000 historical papers and scripts mainly in MarathiMarathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Modi
Modi
Modi can refer to:* Monochorionic-Diamniotic, a type of twin* Modi , a surname used in India* Móði, one of Thor's sons* Modi Rosenfeld, stand up comedian* Modi script, a historical script used in the Maratha empire...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Portuguese and English languages. Moreover, it has also preserved over , and a few sculptures and inscriptions in its well equipped museum. The Mandal’s library keeps a more than books written mainly in Marathi and English which can be available to the researchers for free reading or for a nominal fee on ‘Take Home’ basis. These resources hold sizeable volumes on the history of Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
, Maratha culture and Marathi literature. They also contain a large collection of the material on British Rule as well as Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Rule over India. The Mandal issues a Quarterly Journal called ‘Trai-Masik’ wherein essays and articles on new discoveries are presented. It has also published books written and edited by veteran historians and reports of annual conferences and historians' meets. The Mandal periodically organises lectures, workshops, training, seminars and study tours for the young researchers and historians.
Funding
It was reported in 2004 that the Mandal was insufficiently funded to micro-film or digitise its collection. In 2009, as it entered its 100th year, it plans to create a permanent fund of Ten Million Rupees and use the interest from this fund to pay its expenses.Past presidents
- 1910–1913 Ganesh Vyankatesh JoshiGanesh Vyankatesh JoshiGanesh Vyankatesh Joshi was an economist.-Early life:Ganesh Vyankatesh Joshi was born at Miraj on 9 June 1851. The family is known as the Utturkar family in that province, as it held hereditary lands in the village of Uttur in the Inchalkaranji State...
- 1913–1926 Kashinath Narayan Sane
- 1926–1935 Chintaman Vinayak Vaidya
- 1935–1942 Narsinha Chintaman Kelkar
- 1942–1950 Malojirao Naik Nimbalkar
- 1950–1974 Datto Vaman Potdar
- 1974–1981 Ganesh Hari Khare
- 1981–1983 Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankaliya
- 1984–1986 Ramchandra Shankar Walimbe
- 1988–1991 V.T.Shete
Select Publications
- Annual Research Reports
- Proceedings of the Annual Conferences
- Sources of Maratha History by V.K.Rajwade
- Persian Sources of Indian History by G.H.Khare
- Miscellaneous Sources of Indian History
- Miscellaneous Articles on Indian History
- Proceedings on Researches on Pune
- Records of the Shivaji’s Period
- Sources of the Medieval History of the Deccan
- Vijayanagar Commemoration Volume
- Album of Paintings
- Bibliography and Index of Mandal’s Publications
- Quarterly Journals