Ancestry records of pilgrim centres to shed light on India’s past

Indian Council of Historical Research is looking to release records of people’s ancestors kept by genealogy priests in religious destinations; it plans to help make these records available to researchers, scholars, historians to explore stories of famines, epidemics and migrations in the past

Kapil Parasher’s 10x10 foot office room near Kusha ghat in Haridwar is lined with steel almirahs weighed down with rolls of leather-bound record books. He opens a cupboard, its glass frontage showing the many piles stacked within, and takes out a ledger. On the floor, sits a middle-aged couple waiting to find out about their ancestors. The 40-year-old Mr. Parasher, who wears a dhoti-kurta, opens the bahi (book), and leafs through what could be hundreds of pages.

In a sonorous voice, he declares that they belong to the Kahloor Riyasat, the royal family of Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. The couple are pleasantly surprised, and the session takes barely 10 minutes.

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