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History makes sense

In his article “History — does it make sense?” (Open Page, July 8) S.V. Krishna asks why one should study history at all. It is undeniable that subjects taught at schools and colleges over decades and centuries change. The question Mr. Krishna asks could easily be extended to subjects like sociology, political science and others. A free debate would be enlightening.

But he is wrong in claiming that Hitler’s genocide of Jews was a result of history. It was not. His theories about the Aryan race were the creation of European zealots and not based on history. Even the swastika that he made infamous was the ‘Hakenkreuz’ (hooked cross) and not borrowed from India. It was seen in Germany for the first time when the notorious Erhardt Brigade marched into Berlin in 1920 in support of the abortive Kapp Putsch. This error shows that knowing history may be of some value.

N.S. Rajaram,

Bangalore

The teaching of history does not make sense — it is no surprise that the writer, a mathematician, has such a perspective. Let me, however, remind him that D.D. Kosambi, one of the most important historians of India, was a mathematician. History taught in schools and colleges restricts itself to specific details but I cannot remember examinations in which questions like how many wives a king had are asked.

That historians dig up juicy controversies is a misconception. Political interference and indifference of people to historical reconstruction as serious business are the main reasons for the emergence of controversies. Historians make attempts to find the truth and reconstruct the past using systematic methods that have been tried, tested, and perfected over a period of time.

Gauri Deshpande,

Pune

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