Amity Institute of Liberal Arts’ new History magazine encourages its students to reflect on the past

Studying History has long moved beyond mugging up events and dates. It is now constructive, analytic and debated upon by young minds for newer understandings of the past.

This is the germ of the idea with which Amity Institute of Liberal Arts at Amity University Mumbai launched Itivritta, a history magazine, this September. It will be published annually and will serve as an experimental platform for students to sharpen their writing and editorial skills.

“The idea for this magazine struck me earlier this year. In 2020, History was introduced as a major subject in Liberal Arts at Amity University Mumbai and a significant number of students who enrolled for this course submitted really quality assignments. When I was evaluating the assignments, I realised that if minor corrections are made, they could be worth publishing. The magazine is proof that the students are not only proficient in writing but in all the tasks associated with editorial and design work,” said Mrunmayee Satam, visiting faculty, Amity Institute of Liberal Arts, who initiated the magazine.

What Itivritta is all about

The inaugural edition of the magazine contains nine articles. Seven articles are by second-year Liberal Arts students --- Ramya Menon, Gayathri Mupparapu, Ishika Desale, Suhina Roy and Ananya Bhattacharya. Two articles are by LLB students -- Navneet Anand, who is in the third year, and Reuben Thomas, who is in the fifth year.

“Itivritta offers a constructive platform to express students’ ideas, concepts, perspectives and discourses. Whatever is running on their minds, they can pen it down. The thematic content runs through urban spaces, events of global history, then South Asia and modern times in South Asia,” said Chhaya Goswami, maritime historian and assistant professor in the department of History at SK Somaiya Degree College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai, who was the chief guest at the launch.

The articles cover topics like political cartoons from the Cold War, Vietnam, Agra and the political history of Delhi, the legacy of Partition, Nazi rule and Communism.

“What I really like is the history of cities like Delhi and Agra. The magazine also covers international topics like Vietnam as well as talk about the Indian partition,” said Deepak Hawaldar, officiating head, Amity Institute of Liberal Arts.

The articles are accompanied by colourful illustrations and bibliographical references. The magazine’s layout and design are simple and minimalistic.

“My article is a fictional letter that I have written to a war editorial from the perspective of a young American soldier who was forced to leave America to fight in the Vietnam War. In the letter, I have included a short poem on the feelings of frustration, grief, isolation and uncertainty that were common to most American soldiers who had been compelled to leave their homeland and families behind,” said Suhina.

The team behind the magazine

The student editorial team consists of second-year undergraduate Liberal Arts students Ishika Desale as the editor-in-chief, and Ananya Bhattacharya and Aqib Mulla as editorial committee members.

“Working on the magazine was a great learning experience. I acquired many new skills like proofreading, editing, designing and working on the promotion and publicity campaign as well. All of this gave me an insight into how the academic publishing industry works. The main motivation for me was that this would prepare me for a career in the future,” said Ishika.

Students started working on the magazine from June 2021, which included shortlisting articles, editing and proofreading. In July, the design elements were strung together, which further gave shape to the magazine.

The editorial committee has plans to bring out a print copy of the magazine.

You can request for a digital copy of Itivritta at historymagazineaila@gmail.com.