Past Forward

BULLS IN OUR MEMORY SHOP DEBATING HERITAGE, HISTORY, HUBRIS

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With Hindu-Muslim ten-sions rising in the past year due to the Ram mandir issue, protests against CAA and the Tablighi Jamaat being blamed for the spread of Covid, historians feel that making peace with the origins of such tensions could help defuse them. However, what is the truth that people should be exposed to and how can history be kept from being used for political mileage? According to historian and author Vikram Sampath, “History is always the handmaiden of the ruler. It is the victor who writes the story.” For Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, on the other hand, people deserve the right to be given all versions of the story and then be allowed to determine for themselves the narrative they wish to believe. “History for today’s political misuse is what I have a problem with,” he says. “Let people have their own understandings but no monopoly of one version of the truth. I have talked about memorialising the atrocities of colonialism not because today you want us to revolt against the British because that’s history, but because we must forgive and not forget.” One thing is certain, though—simply looking ahead is not the answer. The scars of the past, when not selectively picked to suit political ends, could help heal historical differences by being a strong reminder of grief and suffering.

KEY TAKEAWAYS