-Napolean Bonaparte.
History is an area of knowledge that explores various aspects of the significant events, which may be political, social, cultural, religious or economic, that have taken place in the past in a particular region/ country or the world or that has affected in some way a society or societies.
This quote, in one line, claims that the nature of History is different from the common perception of history - it is not something that is established beyond reasonable doubt, but it is a selection of facts or claims that lead to an interpretation of the past that is decided by consensus .
The use of the word fable for history immediately makes it seem as if it is different from reality and truth. In my opinion, this quote accurately describes the nature of history as is perceived from various sources - textbooks (this is the only source of historical knowledge for a majority of people), books and accounts by historians. Historical sources catering to one civilization or nation or region are influenced not only by the emotions of the people towards prominent figures of history, but also the propaganda of politicians who wish to project their leaders and ideology in a positive manner. For example, most textbooks in the state of Maharashtra will project Shivaji in a positive light, probably exaggerating his good qualities/actions and ignoring his weaknesses, due to emotions of the masses as well as political pressure.
A recent incident which justifies the claim that history is like a fable decided by consensus is the expulsion of Jaswant Singh by the BJP for writing a book praising Jinnah. This is because most people agree to the version that paints Indian history in black and white - putting all the blame of India's partition on Jinnah, and placing leaders like Nehru and Patel on a moral high ground. Even if Jinnah was actually responsible for partition, there is nothing wrong in exploring the counterarguments to that claim, and then proving it wrong rather than simply suppressing views that disagree with what "the fable" says.
History is an area of knowledge that explores various aspects of the significant events, which may be political, social, cultural, religious or economic, that have taken place in the past in a particular region/ country or the world or that has affected in some way a society or societies.
This quote, in one line, claims that the nature of History is different from the common perception of history - it is not something that is established beyond reasonable doubt, but it is a selection of facts or claims that lead to an interpretation of the past that is decided by consensus .
The use of the word fable for history immediately makes it seem as if it is different from reality and truth. In my opinion, this quote accurately describes the nature of history as is perceived from various sources - textbooks (this is the only source of historical knowledge for a majority of people), books and accounts by historians. Historical sources catering to one civilization or nation or region are influenced not only by the emotions of the people towards prominent figures of history, but also the propaganda of politicians who wish to project their leaders and ideology in a positive manner. For example, most textbooks in the state of Maharashtra will project Shivaji in a positive light, probably exaggerating his good qualities/actions and ignoring his weaknesses, due to emotions of the masses as well as political pressure.
A recent incident which justifies the claim that history is like a fable decided by consensus is the expulsion of Jaswant Singh by the BJP for writing a book praising Jinnah. This is because most people agree to the version that paints Indian history in black and white - putting all the blame of India's partition on Jinnah, and placing leaders like Nehru and Patel on a moral high ground. Even if Jinnah was actually responsible for partition, there is nothing wrong in exploring the counterarguments to that claim, and then proving it wrong rather than simply suppressing views that disagree with what "the fable" says.
Thus, history is an area where it is extremely difficult to ascertain what actually happened. People in power and victors of wars can decide who would be called the villains, and who would be the heroes. Thus, we cannot say for sure whether Hitler was as bad as is made to be perceived and communism was as cruel as is now perceived, these views could largely be because the victors agreed to paint them in such a manner.
No comments:
Post a Comment