Srinagar, Aug. 17 -- I scrolled through the news and found the recent interview of historian Irfan Habib. He stated that history ought to be interpreted on the basis of evidence and actual events rather than individual biases or political pressures.

"History must be based solely on evidence," he said.

I used to pass regularly by his home in Badr Bagh, Aligarh, without knowing I walked past the residence of one of India's most influential historians. Only after I began studying history more seriously did I encounter his writings and engage critically with his arguments.

His statement today matches what I have come to accept: without evidence, history collapses into myth, pure memory passed as fact.

But what do we mean by evidence, and ...