Pune Researcher Honoured For Preserving Modi Script And Local History

Reported by Siddhi Patil
Pune, 2nd July 2025: Ganesh Khutwad, a young historian and researcher from Pune, has been honoured with the “Young Historian Researcher” award by the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal for his contribution to the study of the Modi script, analysis of school history textbooks, and research on institutional historiography.

Khutwad has been instrumental in reviving interest in the Modi script, a historical writing system used widely in Maharashtra, and has taught the script to students from several institutions across Pune and Goa. His work highlights the significance of understanding history through regional languages and local perspectives.

Ganesh Khutwad’s journey began with a deep curiosity about Indian history and a growing concern about the absence of Marathi narratives in mainstream academic discourse. While there was an abundance of literature available in the Modi script, Khutwad often observed a gap in findings related to Marathi history. This very gap led him to pursue studies in history and learn the Modi script. He completed his postgraduation in history from Savitribai Phule Pune University and began working actively on the Modi script and its relevance to contemporary historical understanding.

“There are more than 3 crore texts in Modi script that are yet to be explored by people,” said Ganesh Khutwad. “And being able to read and understand the history of my own land and sharing that knowledge with the rest of the world is one of the biggest inspirations that drove me to Modi and the Maharashtrian history.”

Khutwad’s research also involved a close study of school history textbooks, especially those taught up to Class 10. His analysis focused on how historical narratives are shaped within institutional frameworks and what versions of history are being presented to students. He believes that understanding and teaching regional history in its original script allows for a more nuanced, inclusive, and relatable approach to the subject.

He spoke about the joy of discovering small, intimate details about historical figures. “Who would’ve thought about Bajirao Peshwa’s liking for mangoes? It’s details like these that make history a fun subject to learn,” he said.

Khutwad emphasised that reading letters and documents written in Modi helps uncover a more human side of well-known figures. “In one of the letters, I read that Bajirao Peshwa’s mother used to ask him not to trust any strangers when he went out for wars. And it’s things like these that make historical figures much more relatable for common people like you and me.”

He also mentioned coming across certain ‘cute’ words that were once part of the Marathi language but have now faded away with time. “We often assume that we are fluent in Marathi, but the truth is we know only the modern, diluted form of it. Colonialism, the disappearance of local dialects, and the rapid evolution of the language have made us forget a lot of original vocabulary,” he said.

However, working with the Modi script has not been without challenges. According to Ganesh Khutwad, “The biggest challenge that I have faced is the varieties in handwriting in the script. Some handwritings are such that it is almost impossible to decode what is written.” This problem, combined with the limited understanding of traditional Marathi vocabulary, often makes deciphering historical texts a slow and complex process.

Khutwad expressed concern about the rapid disappearance of indigenous Indian scripts and languages, including Modi. “Decolonialization has been proven to be a good way for sustainable development of minds. And that is something that we need to follow as much as we can,” he said. He highlighted that Modi, once part of school curriculum in Maharashtra until 1962, was removed and subsequently forgotten. He sees this as symbolic of a larger disregard for regional linguistic heritage and called for renewed efforts to preserve such cultural elements.

“If we want to stop our culture from fading away, we need to learn more about it without any shame and pass it on to the coming generations,” Khutwad said. He stressed the importance of individuals making efforts to preserve and promote their own cultural heritage, especially in the face of increasing centralization of cultures.

Speaking about the role of modern platforms in this movement, Khutwad noted how social media has enabled the younger generation to reclaim their cultural identity. “There are tribal content creators who are sharing their culture proudly, and influencers who are talking in their own dialects of a language. And that is celebrated on social media especially by this generation. Our generation has learnt to move past the centralized idea of ‘trends’ and we have started creating an inclusive space for people from different cultures.”

At the same time, he raised concerns about the education system’s role in cultural exclusion. He shared his observations from speaking to people in tribal areas of Maharashtra, where students often drop out because the language of instruction feels alien to them. “While we can agree that it is very difficult to incorporate all dialects of language in school textbooks, we also need to understand that teaching has a huge part to play in this,” he said. “Teachers in these schools need to make learning more inclusive for all their students without adding the factor of shame due to the common mentality that certain dialects are pure, and certain others are not.”

Ganesh Khutwad’s work serves as a reminder of how much historical and cultural knowledge still lies unread and unappreciated. Through his passion for the Modi script, history education, and decolonial thinking, he continues to bridge the gap between the past and the present, between elite narratives and people’s histories.