Wednesday 11 January 2012

Sushant Kumar: Author of Tribal Fusion and Social Evolution



Meet Sushant Kumar who is already an internationally acclaimed historian who began writing at the age of 16. Social evolution has been a topic of debate amongst intellectual elite. A recent interview with Sushant below-

What’s the title of your book and it’s genre? Tell us briefly about it   
   The title of the book is Tribal Fusion and Social Evolution. Its genre is adult non-fiction. This book is written with the point of view to analyze the tribal structure in the Vedic times and its evolution as the caste-society. The fusion of the various tribes to form the complex hierarchical caste-society has also been discussed with references to the literary and the archaeological sources of the contemporary period. Following are some of the links to my book.



Any similar titles from other authors published recently? Which authors would you think you directly compare to? Old or new.      
Yes, there are the many books written by the different authors of repute. Some of them are Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India by Prof. R.S. Sharma, From Lineage to State by Prof. Romila Thapar, and the many others. Recently, Prof. R.N. Nandi has published a book Aryans Revisited (http://www.amazon.com/Aryans-Revisited-Ramendra-Nath-Nandi/dp/8121509599), which is the most relevant to my topic.

Tells us in about 100 words about your literary influences?
      There are the many sites on Internet on which my book can be found. This is a serious topic and people interested in the ancient Indian history are the target readers. Many of the papers included in the book were presented as the papers in the Indian History Congress. Some papers have been published in some editorial volumes also like Recent Researches in History, Archaeology and Culture by Prof. P. Chenna Reddy, from Hyderabad. So experts are the target audience.

Is there any one book that changed your life around?
 Formerly, I have published three books on the relevant topics viz. Evolution of Tribes, Society and Early Philosophy: in Indian Subcontinent (Patna, 2004), The Rigvedic Cosmology: Some Interpretations (Patna, 2006) and the present book, namely, Tribal Fusion and Social Evolution (New York, 2008). After the publication of the first book, I had become a member of the Bihar Itihas Parishad in the age of 16 while after the publication of the second book I had become a member of the Indian History Congress in the age of 17 and thus I had become the youngest member of these congresses till hitherto. At that time I was doing Intermediate from Patna Collge, Patna. When the third book was published from New York, I was 19 year old and was doing BA Hon. from Patna University, Patna. Now I have passed MA (1st class, 1st) and this year I am the gold medalist in History from Patna University, Patna.

Why do you write in the genre you currently write?
      This is the most controversial and difficult topic in the Ancient Indian History. Therefore, I intend to analyze the problems and develop a methodology for the reconstruction of the Vedic History. In the present book, I have tried to analyze the course of social evolution and the development of the various taboos in the Vedic period and then to underline the patterns of the course of social evolution in that period.

What have you learnt so far in your journey from finishing manuscript to becoming a published author  ? Any lessons for unpublished authors
      I have learnt so far that there is no need to be hasty because this is a very serious task and this involves so much labour and sacrifices to gain something. One more thing I should like to share, never restrict your fantasizing ability. Imaginations are more important than information. Never make your brain a storehouse of facts, rather develop your perspective because the value of a person lies in his perspective. Information can be gained from anywhere.

  Tell us about your next project ?
  I want to write on the topic, “The Epistemological Role of Language: A Pragmatic Perspective on Learning in the Historical Background”. But before that I want to settle myself. So as I feel mentally relaxed and ready, I will start working on this topic. I have already prepared the topics what I have to work on. This will be a work to underline the fundamental perspective by which the Indian thinking, intellectual activities and the education system were unique in the ancient period and differed from those of the western civilizations, that is, the perspective that determined the course of the Indian thought process throughout the Indian history.



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