Understanding the spirit of every age

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, the invincible French warrior, in the last days of his life at St. Helena, musing over his own past achievements, which has become a part of history, is reported to have said: "History is the torch of truth, the destroyer of prejudice''.

Though the comment is made in an off-hand way and not to be made as a definition on the subject of history, it is apt and appropriate that it has surpassed all the formal definitions orchestrated so far by any academic practitioner on the subject.

He has exactly highlighted the role that history plays; and whether we are allowing it to play its role is a matter that is cropping up today.History is philosophy in action. To a school- going student, history is a mere list of kings and queens, battles and dates. But to a mature mind, history has a deeper significance. It is a record of the life and conditions of the people, their struggles, successes, failures, shortcomings and progress. This story of societies as recorded in the pages of history, is sometimes thrilling, sometimes sad, but it has an inspiring and ennobling effect. History is not confined, as Thomas Carlyle thought, to the lives of great men "who deserve to be worshipped for what they had contributed to human civilisation{hellip}'' On the other hand, history is the story of the fascinating and glorious experiences of Man in his journey to the path of civilisation.

Every possible sphere of human activity finds recorded in history. It includes literature, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, science & technology, medicine and every possible branch of knowledge. Therefore, a historian is not merely concerned with the dynasties and the dates, his major task is to understand the spirit of the past ages and trace the main principle that governed and guided the people of every age and country. It is his endeavour to discover the factors responsible for the rise and prosperity or the decline and doom of an empire or a nation. Though history represents the "past'', it is but the foundation for the edifice of the present as well as future. It will be an anachronism to review the past historical occurrences solely in the light of the present day conditions and developments. It would be wrong to justify present actions seeking shelter under history. As history is the quintessence of human experiences during the given time and space, no two historical occurrences also can be very similar.

Apathy for history

There is of late a notion among the powers that be that social sciences in general and history in particular, does not contribute to the knowledge that is essential to practical life. For those who think that human welfare and development rests only on attainment of material prosperity through science and technology, history is redundant.

But unfortunately, they have ignored the fact that when human development is sought only through material progress, then the very policy is suicidal. We are only cutting the grass under our feet if we consider that study of history is not beneficial to mankind. If everything about the past is bottled and if all the efforts and struggles of the past generations are completely forgotten, humanity will be poorer for it. If we have reached a better stage of progress today, it is partly due to our knowledge of the past. A study of such past experiences has given us the power of reasoning and the capacity to distinguish between the right and the wrong. If we believe in the fact that all our hope and aspirations depend on the sound understanding of the past, we cannot but revive interest in the study of history. In the course of our lives, even in the most scientific age, we need landmarks to guide us in our quest for truth.

The negative attitude and approach to history to an extent is also due to the manner in which the subject has been made to represent in textbooks at various levels. The framing of history textbooks, to a large extent, is responsible for weaning away the students from the subjects for making the parents frown and finally driving the governments to contemplate on the very removal of the subject.

It is but natural that we generally tend to search in history what we feel is important in society today. If this dictum is kept in mind, the history books should give importance to the socio-economic conditions of the bygone days in a much more conspicuous manner than what is dished out today. History teaching should move from the present position of memory-oriented presentation to analytical approach. Mere dynastic history with an overbearing on the governmental policies, devoid of the impact of such policies on the people, as is done today, in a way, is chiefly responsible for the sad state of the subject. While at the research level, we have taken history to great levels of progress, much to the commendation of the scholars world over, at the school and college level, the fruits of such researches have not been incorporated. The content of history should invariably include aspects pertaining to those who were administered rather than merely the administrators. Aspects pertaining to economic situations, social movements, peasants' struggles, scarcities and famines hardly find place in history texts. These aspects may not be a rosy side of the past, but they do reveal the stark realities and situations. Who will deny that "our sweetest songs are those that tell us the saddest of thoughts.'' There is therefore immediate need for a thorough overhauling of the history syllabi at the school, college and university level.

Once this is done, no one needs to make a special effort for retaining history as a subject of study. The intrinsic social values inherent in the subject become self-explanatory and the subject can take on itself, any of its detractors, government or others.

K.S.S. SESHAN

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