Importance of History

History matters. Nations who do not appreciate and preserve their history will be eventually wiped off and forgotten. Unfortunately, we have lost the value of history and have made efforts to alter textbooks to inculcate half-truth, lies and fallacies to future generations.

As Winston Churchill said, “Everyone can recognise history when it happens. Everyone can recognise history after it has happened, but only the wise man knows at the moment what is vital and permanent, what is lasting and memorable.” Recently we witnessed the statues of the British Prime Minister being defaced after being reminded that he used racial slurs against Indians not known to his countrymen.

Greece is a 90 percent Christian country. It is the birthplace of democracy and one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Ancient Greece had philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and scientists and mathematicians such as Pythagoras, Hippocrates, and Archimedes. These legendary men lived in the pre-Christian era still Greece has acknowledged them and included them in their history and the world continues to read, study and marvel at their genius and contribution to the world.

On the contrary, we have erased history from our textbooks to serve our interests under the pretext of national security and ideology, bringing up an entire indoctrinated generation.

This land is thousands of years old and had a thriving civilization as the same time as Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia. Yet, if you turn a few pages of a history textbook, it would start from 712 AD when Arab conqueror Muhammad Bin Qasim invaded Sindh.

Subsequently, history books have erased any reference to Hindu kings, warriors and even freedom fighters. We have glorified Afghan invaders Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad Ghori, because they were Muslims but are reluctant to name a public square after Bhagat Singh or Hemu Kalani. The Mughals who were the descendants of Mongols have been praised but there is no mention of the Mauryan Empire which spanned nearly the whole subcontinent.

It is critical to understand the importance of history and historiography. It is the only method we got to our current period. We should not deny our past but embrace it and move forward. It is then only then we will learn from our past mistakes and move forward. We should not let our feelings or opinions get in our way and mass state indoctrination should be stopped.

Today the general public has a marked lack of knowledge about their own nation’s history and politics. Much worse, there is a wide distinction between the history taught in Pakistan Studies and the ‘real’ history. This is what historian K.K. Aziz referred to as the ‘murder of history’ and the blunders, factual errors, distortions, biased viewpoints, shared opinions and blatant lies in our textbooks and the national curriculum.

A recent Pew survey revealed that 75% of Pakistanis have never read a book outside the textbooks. This is dangerous especially in the era of social media and fake news where the lines between news and fiction is blurred. The historiographers and policymakers are responsible for the erasure of history. We need to revisit and rewrite our glorious history before we are lost in history forever.