Question 4: What do private letters and autobiographies tell us about an individual? How are these sources different from official accounts?
Answer:
Private letters and autobiographies are important source of individual’s life and views. Many of our freedom struggle leaders wrote autobiographies and letters and today they are our great record about them and history too. The autobiographies and letters tell us the following things about an individual.
1.Autobiographies and letters throw light on the interests of an individual. Let us take an example, Nehru wrote letters to his daughter Indira describing the events of world history, today it is known as the book, ” Glimpses of the World History”. These letters show that Nehru had great interest in history. These letters show also the views of the author. For example, Nehru talks highly of the socilaist government of USSR in his autobiography.
2.These autobiographies and letters are a good source of information of the social life of those days in India. Dr Rajendra Prasad has given vivid description of the village life that he saw as a child in his village.
3.Above all these autobiographies and letters are great source of history too. Nehru in his autobiography has explained in details about the obstinate approach of Moslem League towards solving the minority problem in India.
These sources were diffferent from the official accounts. This is manifested in the following points:
1.The official accounts are done by individuals but they work under the guidelines of the government. Thus, views that run against the government remain stifled. In addition, the author would not have the freedom of focused area. He would be required to write only on topics already defined. However, in autobiographies and letters one can choose anything of personal interest. Dr Rajendra Prasad gives a vivid description of his school and college days in his autobiography. This is not possible in any government account.
2.The autographic letters throw light on the personal life of individual leaders and show these events shaped the thought process of these leaders in future life. Mahatma Gandhi described how he was thrown out of the first class compartment of the train in South Africa because he was not a white man. He describes the struggle inside on how to protest and later how he took to non -violent means of protest.
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