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Present actions have roots in the past
SUCHITHRA R
I read the article ‘History — does it make sense?’ and found that I disagreed with most of what the author said, though I must admit he brought to light some of the faults of our education system. Like the author, I am no historian either. I am an engineering student and I waved finis in toto to the study of history post-high school. However, I find history keeps coming back to me. From the kind of food we eat to the kind of
ceremonies we attend to the gods we pray to, everything we do has a reason in the past. And nobody can refute that.
I agree that I need not know who I have descended from. I agree with Raja Raja Chola I that “I have no right to carry the names of my ancestors on my head because I am in no way responsible for their greatness or faults. Whether they were great or unruly, I cannot make them the source of my pride. I can only learn from them.” I too think we must learn from mankind’s mistakes and prove the ‘History repeats itself’ adage wrong.
The only justification for the study of history can be that it can enrich our lives. As a scientific person, I think we must ask why we do the things the way we do them, instead of following rules blindly and most of the answers to these questions lie in the past.
For instance, a historian recently published a paper to the effect that temples contain statues because when they were first made, people thought they were real! They went to temples because they thought the gods lived there; this was why sculptors tried to make their statues as realistic as possible. He argues that, in fact, this was why they tried to exaggerate human characteristics so as to show the god as an extra strong person, more well-built than normal men can ever be!
He also says that when people understood later that the statues were not real, they said the gods had left the earth and also created the concept of his omnipresence. This triggers the question: Maybe there is god, but does he really live in temples? (I am a theist myself and these are not meant to hurt anyone’s sentiments. They are only presented as arguments put forward by a Greek historian).
I only wish to reiterate that some of our practices might be meaningless and we can, I am sure, prevent a lot of gory rites if we examine our beliefs a shade more closely in the light of our knowledge of history and discover their roots.
The second argument is that historians exaggerate a lot and we never get to see the real picture. It is true that historians apparently exaggerate or extrapolate history to a great extent. But the solution lies in digging further and finding the truth rather than shutting the door on the past.
Method of teaching
In fact, even from history as it is presented today, we have so many valuable lessons to learn that, if we probe further, we do not know what treasures we might unearth. But certainly, giving up the study is the most illogical thing to do. Our ancestors may not have been perfect, but surely we can learn what little they knew and improvise on it.
The third argument is that history is forced on students i.e. the author condemns the methods used for history teaching. He asks why he should learn all those dates and years and conquests. I agree that this points to a rather important hole in our system of education and not the subject as such.
It may not be necessary to learn all the dates, or the extent of the great empires, or the list of all the battles Alexander fought. But it would be useful to know what caused the war and what were its consequences. By understanding the follies of the emperors, many a nuclear war may be avoided.
As a final argument, I only wish to say that history, like science, is a tool in the hands of human beings. It can do more good than evil if used the right way. Just as we do not abolish science, considering the good that it has done, we must continue the pursuit of knowing our past. I do not call for a return to the past. I say “Let us not try to relive our past. Let us only try to learn from it!”
Suchi.blitz@gmail.com
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