IMPORTANCE TO REWRITE HISTORY FREE FROM BIAS, ENGLISH PROJECT, ICSE, CBSE, ISC, INDIAN HISTORY

 

GROWING IMPORTANCE TO REWRITE HISTORY FREE FROM BIAS AND OBJECTIVE TO MISLEAD NEXT GENERATIONS

History is all about the past. In almost every country, city, town and village throughout the world, a large number of existing buildings were built in the past to meet the needs and aspirations of people, now dead. This is most obvious in existing temples, churches, mosques, fireplaces, houses, public buildings, and so on. The systems of governments, political ideas, religious beliefs, art, architecture, cultural practices, educational systems, customs and behaviours are all products of the past, recent or remote. By definition history is a continuous, systematic narrative of past events relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc. It is written in a chronological order. It is important that history per se must be a true and factual record of events as they happened. This implies that history must record all the good, bad or ugly that may be associated with any period of time, event or personality. Opinions, perceptions or commentary on history and historical events should not be construed as history as they will vary from individual to individual.

History is precisely the study of this human past. The past is our heritage; we are part of it and the past is part of us in all aspects: Be it culture, behaviour, religious faith and practices, be it rituals, be it the tradition of political, social and economic systems. It is reflected in our day-to-day living. It moulds the outlook of the younger generation. By turning the past into a narrative, history creates a public ethos and influences culture. From architecture to film, and from ancient India to Partition etc it encompasses aspects to give a clear idea of the past.

It provides societies and individuals with a dimension of longitudinal meaning over time which outlives the human life span. It connects us with our past. History also allows us to peep into the future by providing precedents for contemporary actions and forewarning against the repetition of past mistakes. From its sense of continuity, history offers the apparent form and purpose to the past, the present and the future. 

As memory is to the individual, so history is to the community or the society. Without memory, individuals find great difficulty in relating to others. We all move ahead through the past of our own cultures, own civilisations, and values and it is this accumulation of ideas and experience, transmitted through education and sheer daily living that gives our thoughts meaning and the patterns and purpose of our actions. It is not that we live in the past but we are defined by it, and so the success of even the most forward-looking developments must inevitably rest on their relation to the ideas and practices of the society.

Problem of writing history: There is a tendency among historians to act as judges and give moral sermons. Historians must write and rewrite history. They are not supposed to be moral judges. Therefore, we must not forget that we cannot fully understand or appreciate the work of a historian unless we have first grasped the standpoint from which he himself approaches it, and that standpoint is itself rooted in social and historical background. A publicly shared past imparts a collective memory and identity. Textbooks are viewed as officially approved documents — even if they are privately produced and have no official sanction — and are therefore believed to be associated with state power. Significantly, they do shape the perceptions of the young because children are impressionable. There is no doubt that most history across the world has been written with a strong bias towards the victor and those in power. History of World War two is perhaps the best example where mainly British and Americans have been glorified and credited with achieving victory over Nazi Germany. Children depend on adults to learn about the past, and that is what makes history the most challenging school subject. The poorly taught history matters even more than well-taught history, simply because when history does not arouse curiosity or impart the tools of analysis, it creates an emotional barrier for further inquiry.

Indian History can be divided in five broad periods – Vedic period from 6,500 BC to 1,000 BC, Golden period from 500 BC to 800 AD, Muslim period from 1,000 AD to 1,700 AD, British period from 1,700 AD to 1947 AD and finally the period after independence in 1947 which may be termed as contemporary History of India. The first two periods from 6,500 BC to 800 AD have a lot of gaps and the available history is rather sketchy. Without a doubt there is a need to fill the gaps and add more details were available. Muslim and British periods, as also contemporary history of India, are fairly well chronicled and documented. Muslim and British period history is written mainly from their perspective as most historians were commissioned by them. Therefore, Indian perspective is missing and hence the need for correction and addition of details where required. History related to Indian freedom struggle does appear to be loaded in favour of Congress. It is all about Nehru and Gandhi while contribution of others like Sardar Patel and a host of others has been minimized. Those who were part of the struggle but disagreed with Congress, like Subhash Chander Bose, appear to have been given a short shrift. Contemporary history since 1947 is heavily biased with role and achievements of Congress party and its leaders being overstated while their follies have either been down played or omitted.

Given the situation in our country today, any move to change anything in history as it stands today will give rise to a fierce, and mostly meaningless, political debate. The task therefore must be entrusted to an eminent panel that draws on best available minds in the country. It must not have any political representation. They must be tasked to chronicle history as it happened and how it happened with logical deductions. They must avoid adding any personal commentary, interpretations or perceptions.

Disclaimer: Images have been taken from Google sites.