From Father To Son - The Why and How of studying History

Phew! It has been 3 long years since my last post here. And this is about something which is very close to my heart - history. 
When we were in school, history and other such social sciences subjects were really not meant for middle class, ordinary people in non-metro towns, who wished to make big in their lives. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence and purpose was supposed to be studying science, maths and economics which only would help you in getting a good job with lots of money and social standing.  Study of history, sociology etc were just trivial pursuits, better explained as whiling away of time. 
Even today, the situation has not changed for a large number of people. Apart from a rarefied circle, a BA still elicits sneers from peers - "kuchh hua nahin hoga inse" types. 
I strongly feel a better studying of history would have made us a better people who are more responsible and aware towards their surroundings. The following article is in the same vein, and I hope it makes some difference to someone. It was intended as a small letter to my son and developed in to a long rant, which I thought to share with you.  (Its abridged version has been carried in the newspaper First India of 19th June 2019 under the heading "Histori-kally Yours). 

Dear Son

Being sixteen is a wonderful age. As the famous American artist and philosopher Raymond Duncan has said – “The best substitute for experience is being sixteen”. But then, you cannot not grow up and remain sixteen all your life, can you?

As you grow up to be a teen and then an adult, and gain some experience, you would see the world unfold before you in all its beauty and magnificence, and possibly in some of its ugliness and cruelty too. You would meet people with differing views on how the world should be like, some of which you would agree with and some you won’t. You would read books, watch movies and make new friends. Shaped by all of this, you would form your own opinion, your own world view to help you make sense of what is going on in your society, country and the world.

This would happen mostly without even your realizing it – slowly and surely, over years. But whether or not you realize it, it is a very important part of your growing up, because growing up is not all physical, right? Along with the body, the mind has to grow too, to help you make more informed opinions and decisions. It is here that one knowledge stream could help you immensely – History.

History? – you would ask. That boring-litany-of-dates-and-kings-and-battles-history? Yes, the same. Because, as the famous Uruguayan journalist and writer Eudardo Galeano has said – “History never really says goodbye. History says, ‘See you later’ ”. What this means is that historical situations and events, though unique to their times, have a habit of repeating themselves. And it would do well to learn from history. But hold the thought here.

I have been using the word history repeatedly. What exactly do we mean when we say history? Apart from a dictionary definition, which you already know, that is? Well, to know what history actually is, a better starting point would be to understand what history isn’t.      

 ·       History is not just a list of years and dates when power changed hands or some important war was fought. I am sure you and your friends must have spent many sleepless nights cramming up these dates. History is also about the long periods in between these important dates when people just went on with their lives – earning their livings, raising families, discovering new things, celebrating their newborns, mourning their dead, enjoying their happy moments and grieving their losses. These are the stories you should look for. Really good books and movies take you back to those times. So, don’t take the dry route of only mugging up the dates. Read between these dates.

·        History is also not only about kings or leaders of countries or such important figures. Important as these famous personalities are, their lives might not be representative of the general public of the times. Look out for historical stories away from the mainstream, which tell you about the common man of any era – how he lived, what he ate, what his customs and religion were, what he (or she, of course) believed in etc. Look a little closer at the name – history – some say it speaks his story, the man’s story! So the next time you pick up a history book, read a little carefully and you would hear the common man’s story.

·         History is most definitely not a flogging tool to prove other people wrong or making them feel ashamed or worked up about their past. Judging someone and behaving with him on the basis of the historical past is the worst form of expression of superiority one could have over others. You would understand that one does not have any say in what kind of family and circumstances one is born in. It is all a matter of chance, for which no one should be castigated.

Now that we are have a sense of what history is or isn’t, we can come back to our original question of why and how should we study history? How does it actually help us form an opinion, a world view, as talked earlier?

·         Here is a quote from a newspaper column by the famous historian Ramachandra Guha. He says –

“The uses of history are educative rather than instrumental. By writing in rich details about other peoples and past times, the historian can expose his fellow citizens to a wider range of human social experience. A deeper knowledge of how others have lived and labored – or failed and succeeded – allows one to be more fully aware of the contingencies and peculiarities of one’s own life.

A knowledge of history may thus make the aam aadmi more self-critical, less xenophobic. As for political (or business or sporting) leaders, a knowledge of history is – or should be – the best antidote to hubris.” 

What this quote says is that knowledge of history makes you a much fuller and complete person, sensitive and accommodative to other’s experiences and sensibilities. Man is a social animal, they say. Indeed he is, and your being aware about others in the society will make your and others’ lives more meaningful.

·         History helps you place your coordinates in the world. Your science classes might have told you about the human race originating 2 million years ago from Africa. Won’t it be fascinating to know what happened thereafter, how do you trace yourself to your ancestors? As an aside, you would find it interesting that National Geographic magazine is running a very elaborate scientific exercise to analyse historic patterns of DNA from participants around the world to better understand our shared historic roots. (source: genographic.nationalgeographic.com/about)       

·         India is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world – around 2500 to 3000 years old. Along with a rich history, we also have a vast treasure of mythology enriched with magnificent stories and widely revered & loved characters, real to many of us. For example, Mahabharat and Ramayana are undoubtedly one of the greatest epics the world has ever seen. In the millennia since they have been written, these epics have acquired a life of their own and their characters are probably the most well-known and respected characters in the Indian religious pantheon. At the same time, there is a strong line of thought which considers them as real history and not just mythology. The truth is somewhere in between these two extremes. It is important to appreciate the points of difference between history and mythology, between fact and fiction. Knowing correct history would help us.     

At this point, I hope you have come around to thinking that this history is not so boring after all, and maybe you could think of reading or watching some. With the surfeit of history available on the internet and TV shows, it is important to remember some guidelines which shall help you make the most of your interest. I will list them down as follows:

·         History requires understanding, not correction

In the politically and socially dynamic societies like ours, people group on the basis of region, caste, religion, political support etc., and as is human nature, there is a tendency to establish oneself or one’s group as superior to others.

To feel superior, even on a false basis, over-zealous groups sometimes start propagating lies in name of “correct history”, and start opposing uncomfortable truths which puncture their false claims. You must have seen groups protesting to ban some movie or some book, because as per them, it makes them look bad or wicked or cruel or whatever they don’t wish to look like.  

But what we are seeking to understand in history is the truth, howsoever uncomfortable it might be. True knowledge gives us more courage and self-worth than some manufactured past.  

An attempt to correct history, if any such thing is possible at all, is more often than not leading one on to a wrong path of self-glorification, away from joy of acquiring true knowledge. 

·         Choose your sources wisely

For starters, school text books are a rather good way to gain an overview of history. If you are in India, Social Science NCERT text books for Class 8^th to 12^th have quite well-researched, unbiased and distilled content for use of young scholars.

Once you have gained an overview, choose some specific event of history and look up bestsellers lists on history books on the internet. There are some absolutely wonderful authors who write well-researched history and in whose hands, history springs to life. 

I could suggest some – The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William E Shirer for World War 2, or The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple for the last days of Mughal Empire in India or India After Gandhi by Ramchandra Guha for history of modern India after independence etc. Talk to your teachers and elders for their suggestions about other good sources.

     

·         Separate fake from real

Internet is a pretty reliable guide on genuine history stuff to read or watch. At the same time, there is a lot of unverified and false history floating around the web and also on the social media. Similarly, there is a lot of literature which is not genuine history but just propaganda. So be on your guard. Be exposed to all points of view but use your common sense and try to distil correct facts from the plethora of information around. There are a lot of websites dedicated to sounding out fake news. Find out about them.

·         Draw correct conclusions. If in doubt, wait.

Reading and watching previously unknown facts will inevitably lead you to form some opinions and draw conclusions. Remember that opinions change with knowledge and experience acquired. So, don’t be fixed in your opinions. Keep your mind open, keep reading and wait for the complete picture to emerge. Don’t rush in to drawing half-baked conclusions.

·         Time and context are important

Human civilization is approximately 4000 years old. Every minute contributing to these four millennia is connected to every other minute by a cause and effect relationship, howsoever wide and apart they seem.

A large part of studying history is about understanding these relationships, and knowing that historical events and personalities are products of the prevailing time and circumstances. When we see the history through the pigeon-hole of present times and our limited experience, we sometimes tend to forget this.

As an example, sometimes the words ‘secular’ or ‘nationalistic’ are used to describe events which occurred 300 years ago. This is not correct because these ideas have originated and have been defined only around 150 years back.    

Remember therefore that to appreciate historical events, we have to place them in correct context of prevailing time and circumstances.  

  

·         Heroes are never totally white, nor are the villains absolutely black.

Brought up on fairy tales and popular movies, most of us think of heroes and villains as uni-dimensional characters, meaning that heroes have to be all good, and villains supremely bad. But it is not so in real life. A person is a mixture of these two, never wholly black, never wholly white, but some shade of grey in between.

Naturally, it applies to our historical figures also. Someone might have been a great warrior but a not-so-good father. Another one might have been a patron of arts but a cruel person too. Great heroes too can have feet of clay. History is full of such heroes.

It is necessary to appreciate these fine personality traits. Appreciate a hero for his good qualities but don’t make him invincible in your head.   

·         Recognize and respect the other person’s view point

Probably the most important lesson to be learnt from history is that even though facts are supposed to be sacred, they could have different effects on different people. You are not the only one drawing conclusions from the past. You have to recognize and respect the other person’s point of view.    

Well, it is been a long letter with lots of directions but if it has been able to kindle in your heart just a little flame of honest curiosity about our history, it would be worth the length. I wish you well, hoping that this journey in to the quest for truthfulness would make you a better and complete person. 

Love 
Dad

Indian Hockey - Some Hope?

The recent dismal performance of our national hockey team in the London Olympics has put all the hockey-lovers to great grief.
I do not think any of us need to be reminded of the ignominy again. But a recent news item in the Indian Express (read it here) has breathed fresh life in to my redundant hopes. It seems a hockey IPL, like that in cricket, is in the offing and corporates like Ambanis and stars like Shahrukh are lining up to buy various teams.
This would give the game a much needed visibility which it desperately needs today. Following is my letter published in today's Indian Express Delhi, commenting on this good news:

I hope redemption for this glorious game in our country is around the corner soon.

Tailoring History

Renaming of historical places is a pet peeve of mine. Every time some place is renamed, the liberal in me wakes up and is deeply offended. I consider every such exercise as an ostrich like attitude towards life - refusing to acknowledge the truth and face the consequences.
A fortnight back, Delhi Development Authority announced their decision to rename the Coronation Park in Delhi, which was the site of 1911 coronation of King George in the British times. This is not unusual. DDA, after all, is run by the government, ergo, by the politicians who normally chose populist moves over any  erudite ones. Here is where I read this:

What I found unusual was various academicians and historians agreeing that Coronation Park in its present name " is inappropriate and glorifies a British event".
My wife accuses me of being a pseudo when I give this "liberal" argument. She says keeping original names  indeed glorify the British and is being regressive rather than being liberal. This is a part of history which might well remain in the books but not needed to be shouted from the rooftops. I frankly do not know how to respond to this. May be she is right and I am being only naive.
Nonetheless, I shot a letter to the Indian Express, which I share with you here below:

Meanwhile, the debate at home continues...

Falling scrap - a cause of worry?

Today's Indian Express Delhi Edition contains my letter to the editor about a news item yesterday, which lamented about the falling scrap levels in the Indian Railways. 

Scrap levels going down is an indicator of better efficiency, not something to be worried about, was what I mentioned.

Below is the letter:

And here is the original news item:

Letter to the Editor

Outlook recently brought out a sex-survey special issue dated 24th Jan. My take on this, published in the issue dated Feb14, 2011 is in the Letters section:

You have sadly squandered away the opportunity to seriously explore this largely virgin (pun intended) territory. Instead we have an insipid survey and compilation of inane personal accounts.

RAHUL GAUR, GURGAON

Letter to the Editor

The saga of IPL is getting murkier by the day. What else would you expect when you have such an illogically huge amount of money flowing around, hidden behind bordering on incestuous team ownerships and lately, after the entry of the quintessential villain - the politician, even if unwittingly.
Today's Delhi edition of Indian Express contains my following letter, which is what I think of IPL:


Devil in IPL details

• Apropos the editorial ‘A dash of sunlight’, the whole Tharoor-IPL saga bears out the fact that doomsday calls of cricket puritans over the IPL format are not just empty rhetoric. In the huge marketing carnival that the IPL is, the glorious sport of cricket has been well and truly laid siege to, by obscene amounts of money, lots of tamasha and fluff. And Tharoor is just a trickle — with the kind of money pouring in and the convoluted nature of team ownerships, we can remain assured that there is a deluge of political connections just waiting to be brought to the open.

— Rahul Gaur, Gurgaon

If you wish to visit the Express online to read this (or something else, of course), visit here.

Letter to the Editor

A recent issue of Outlook carried an essay by the celebrated essayist and writer Arundhati Roy on Naxals / Maoists of Dantewada and other hotspots of Chhatisgarh and AP. I suggest you read the essay - it does give you a good picture, though a slightly distorted one.
My take on this essay is carried in the following letter published in the latest Outlook dated April 19th 2010:

www.outlookindia.com: "Arundhati Roy has obviously expended considerable energy in reporting from ground zero, but I dare say that the essay tends to romanticise the Maoist cause. She has conveniently glossed over all the needless murders and incidents of looting, arson and vandalisation these ‘comrades’ have been committing in the name of justice and alternate governance. It also seems from the essay that the whole movement is now itself victim to the adage, ‘the more things change, the more they remain the same’. What with different departments and an elaborate hierarchy, the janatana sarkars are beginning to resemble the same labyrinthine, faceless entities, without spontaneous popular support—much like the system the Naxalites are purportedly fighting against.

RAHUL GAUR, GURGAON"

Police Sensitization

A few days back, I was reading an editorial in the Hindustan Times which talked about an unfortunate incident in which some policemen & women beat up a mentally ill girl because she turned violent.

The editorial argued that the police force needs to be reformed and sensitized about such matters.

My response, in an unpublished letter, is as follows:

This is apropos your editorial "Are we really a police state?" in HT dated August 27, 2009.

You have rightly raised a very apt question about the lack and immediate need thereof of sensitization of our police force. It was indeed painful to learn about a mentally ill girl being thrashed mercilessly in public, which is yet another instance of police behaviour at its worst.

In my view, however, this is not the problem per se; it is only a symptom of a deeper malaise. Police force, like any other institution, is not a faceless entity. It is essentially a group of people who, rather than being unleashed by the heavens above, are common people drawn from the society itself.

And it is our societal collective mindset – essentially feudalistic, acutely class-conscious, intolerant of the maginalised of any manner and opportunistic of the first order, rules be damned – which is being reflected in each one of us, policemen included, only with different degrees of manifestation in line with the opportunity provided.

It has to be recognized therefore that without a corrective action on the root cause, therefore, it would only be a symptomatic treatment at best.

Sincerely Yours

Happy and Gay?

Apropos the Delhi High Court judgement over gay rights, it is amusing to note that both the opponents and proponents of the judgement have, even if inadvertently, reduced this issue to just a Freudian debate.

This judgement is an endorsement of personal liberty and rights and inclusiveness, which any sane and civil person already understands. That the state also now does so is all the more welcome. It is one less opportunity for the insensitive law enforcerers to harrass civil people on imaginary pretexts. So far so good.

However, the accompanying celebrations and felicitations and the whole picture painted in the media has twisted this issue out of context. It almost seems like a glorification of the LGBT lifestyle choice, if there is one, over our less interesting, boringly normal heterosexual lifestyles.

This we definitely do not need. It has to be clearly understood that the issue is about inclusiveness towards the "differently normal", if I may dare to coin a term, and not about their validation as normal.

The same sentiments are carried in my letter to the editor in today's edition of Indian Express, Delhi.

I would love to hear what you think about this sensitive topic.

Indian Express, 14th May'09

Indian Express of 13th May'09 carried a photograph of a proposed four-faced statue of Mayawati. I thought I was above contempt for this woman but a fesh wave of nausea surprised me. 

Today's Indian Express Delhi Edition carries my following letter in response:

"Mayafication ■ MAYAWATI’S photograph on your front page (‘Maya, Maya...’, IE, May 13) aptly summed up all that Mayawati actually stands for — self glorification, ideology be damned.

While there’s no denying that much needs to be done still for Dalit empowerment the big question remains whether this purpose is being served through Mayawati’s wasteful expenditure. I am surprised at the collective silence of our intelligentsia.

— Rahul Gaur Gurgaon"

Indian Express April 18 2009

Following is my letter to the editor about the Naxal problem, published in IE of 18th April'09.

Help and Punish

The image of a policeman in a dingy cell, writing his report as a slain security man lies on a post mortem table, is a poignant reminder of the grim realities of our democratic republic, beyond the usual post-poll smiles we are usually treated to (First Phse, Naxals cast their bullet, IE, April 17). 

While the state's failure to tackle the Maoists stares us in the face, it must also be acknowledged that the Naxalite problem did'nt surface overnight.

The rise of these ruthless murderers owes also to the systematic neglect and exloitation of the tribals. These marginalised people are now being exploited by the Naxalites to push their agenda.

As we celebrate our democratic carnival, our leaders should devise manifold policies to uplift these poor people and work out strategies to defeat the Naxalites. 

Rahul Gaur, Gurgaon

Once again, the erudite editors have tweaked the content to probably suit their style. But yes, the gist remains intact.

I invite your comments on this Naxal problem.

Outlook, April 13, 2009

Outlook, March 30 issue carried an interesting cover-story, which talked about how the brains behind the success of almost all the major politicians are Brahmins.  To a prejudiced mind, it could be termed as almost eulogising Brahmins.

My take on this story is carried in the Letter section of the present issue of Outlook and goes as follows:

Your cover story Backroom Brahmins (Mar 30) has dared to put forth a brave and thought-provoking thesis, which no publication would touch upon, lest it be accused of "propagating Brahmin supremacy and caste politics in these modern times". Political correctness aside, I wish this thesis was extended/tested with other occupations also. I am no historian or social scientist, but I think such a study would bear out the fact that the much derided caste system was actually a functional division based on personality traits and types—horizontal rather than vertical.
Rahul Gaur, Gurgaon 

I am really of the opinion that the caste system in its origin must have been a great psychological tool to categorise personalities for optimum utilization of societal resources. 

It is only with centuries of abuse perpetrated by petty self-interests that it degenerated in to a vile tool and created water-tight jackets of castes in which any osmosis was rendered impossible.

This is a touchy but interesting issue. Your enlightened opinions are awaited.  

Indian Express, Delhi; March 20, 2009

Today's Indian Express, Delhi carries my letter about the now-famous hate-speech of Varun Gandhi:
Foul Mouth
VARUN GANDHI’S hate speech should be condemned in the harshest of terms for its blatant communalism and the speechmaker punished (‘Shocking language’, IE, March 18). During troubled times — when our secular fabric is already stretched to the extreme — such criminally irresponsible remarks, that too from a public podium and supposedly in the cause of democracy, are the last thing the country needs. The BJP has distanced itself from Varun but it needs to clarify what it thinks about the affair to the public.
The last line has been tweaked by them probably to suit their style, but I must admit that this has taken the sting out of my proposition.
Here is what I actually wrote to them:
BJP may have publicly distanced itself from Varun, but in their hearts, they would be feeling proud to see their agenda articulated in such clear terms, shorn of all verbal embellishments. Rather, I would go so far as to suggest that this might be a part of a pre-conceived plan by BJP to assure its loyalists.

Outlook Jan19, 09

Let's start the year with a heavy dose of self-publicity.

The Jan 19 issue of Outlook - first of this year - carries 2 letters of mine, which I wish to share with you:

The first one is on the article Arundhati Roy wrote after the Mumbai terror attacks:

Arundhati is clearly very rattled by the Mumbai attacks. Her prose, usually so lucid and a treat to read whether or not you agree with her, is this time rambling and repetitive. Along with the form, the function too suffers from a complete lack of new insight. Instead, she has once again propped up her all-time favourite villains—Gujarat genocide, "atrocities" in Kashmir, Hindutva, powerful and sinister politicians et al, which have supposedly led to this (almost justified!) retribution from the Muslims of the world. This is a tad too over the top. Notwithstanding the "decades of quick-fixes and dirty deeds", these terrorists were no disgruntled Indian Muslims whereby these attacks could be explained in the above context. I wouldn’t even term them as Pakistanis. People like them are above nationalities, owing allegiance only to their own pure hatred and warped mindsets, global citizens of the Terror Republic.


The second one is a response to the Happiness Prescription in an earlier issue:

I noted sadly that the list of books prescribed for happiness (Rev Up Your H Quotient) included not a single book in Hindi. Maybe it needed Manjula Padmanabhan, the selector, to be a more pan-Indian author to include gems like Raag Darbari (Shrilal Shukla) and a collection of essays by the great Harishankar Parsai.
R.G., on e-mail

Did they use my initials to convey that we were two different readers writing in?