How do you remember the Covid-19 pandemic?

It has been perhaps one of the most significant and disruptive historical phases for the present generations. Based on our personal experiences, it has become a very important chapter in our individual and collective history. While some will remember the good times spent with loved ones in the confines of their homes, some will remember the death, despair, and helplessness they faced. Today, after three years, it becomes important to evaluate how we are going to remember it and share it with our future generations.

History is a very subjective and complex discipline. It is so diverse and vast that it is often not possible to record and recall it in entirety. Our human limitations, emotions, and biases often lead us to remember history in parts and compartmentalize it to make it simpler to understand. Apart from this, who controls the narrative and who is targeted, makes us biased in our narratives either as feel good or feel bad, often ignoring the critical thinking and complex nuances. Among the many ways we use to tell history, two are more frequently used- feel good type and the feel bad type of narratives. These narratives are selectively used by the storytellers to sway the emotions and thought process of the listener in a particular and often predetermined direction. The objective often lies in the intent of the one who controls the narrative.

Feel good history romanticizes the events and individuals by way of highlighting the positive aspects of the past while downplaying or ignoring the less flattering realities. It puts our collective cognizance into a comfort zone and provides a boost for our pride. Highlighting positive moments from history can foster a sense of pride and national or cultural identity. It creates a narrative that celebrates achievements, heroes, and moments of triumph, which can boost a sense of unity and belonging among a community. Americans often look back at the struggles their forefathers undertook just like us Indians who idolize our Freedom fathers who sacrificed their lives for our beloved motherland. Sharing such stories of resilience, progress, and positive change from history can inspire people to overcome challenges and strive for a better future.

It often helps us build more deep-rooted connections and emotional attachments to our culture and traditions and enables the continuity of shared values and aspirations from past to present. It can foster a sense of togetherness among different segments of society. In times of difficulty or uncertainty, people may turn to uplifting historical narratives to improve their mental and emotional well-being. These stories can offer a sense of comfort and optimism.

However, it does not reflect the complete story and often ends up distorting facts, events, and most of all our understanding. It may lead to oversimplification of complex issues and give birth to selective memories. When the British decided to write Indian History, they divided it on the religious lines- Ancient Hindu history, Medieval Mughal history and Modern British history. During the freedom struggle, Nationalist leaders sought refuge in the glory of the ancient Hindu past while demonizing the role played by Muslim invaders during the medieval era. This caused rift between the Hindus and Muslims and ultimately became an important factor for partition of India.

Such selective narratives, though appealing to some sections of societies, might create exclusion and lack of trust for other sections. It may help hide the ugly and uncomfortable truth that does not help the narratives of the storytellers. The atrocities faced by Native Americans children in Canada were easily brushed under the carpet to glorify the civilizational role of Catholic churches.

Since most marginalized sections do not have control over the narrative, their experiences do not find the appropriate place in history, perpetuating a narrow perspective and prejudices. Their lives, opinions and contributions are often overshadowed. The contribution of Indian mathematician Radhanath Sikdar for discovering the height of Mt. Everest was conveniently ignored and the tallest Mountain thus discovered was named after a British official who had no interest in such things.

Thus, we can say that seeing history with rose tinted glasses to fit our convenience not only gives birth to myths and stereotypes but also poses a challenge to learn from mistakes of the past. It replaces the values of critical thinking and self-actualization with over glorification and false sense of gratification which becomes a hurdle in the process of development. One such part of history is Industrial revolution which is heralded as the peak of scientific development and progress of humanity, whereas in reality it gave birth to so many socio-economic atrocities not just in Europe, but also fostered the colonial loot and depraved the colonies of all rights and dignity at the same time.

Sticking to one sided narrative like the feel good history, thus, promotes selective truth and evasion of the uncomfortable truths about history. It may also focus on a few celebrated individuals or moments while ignoring the contributions of others. An example is the glorification of certain leaders or figures without acknowledging the collaborative efforts of diverse communities. The story of Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement might overshadow the countless contributions of grassroots activists who worked tirelessly for change. This becomes a bigger problem when the history or person being glorified are used for selfish and unreasonable objectives like promoting the separatist movements, terrorism or any sort of fundamentalist ideology for that matter which wants to create fractures in the social constructs.

It might seem appropriate to counter the ills of feel-good history with feel-bad history which focuses on the negative aspects of the past and focuses more on the injustices, and horrors of the past. Though it helps us bring to light the dark phases of our existence and acknowledge the pain and suffering that went into those chapters, it is not an ideal approach either.

Dwelling exclusively on negative historical events can lead to a loss of perspective and context. For instance, focusing solely on the horrors of the Holocaust might overlook the acts of bravery, resistance, and solidarity that occurred during that period. It may create a sense of hopelessness and deter constructive approach to resolve the issues in the present times. For instance, an exclusive emphasis on the negative consequences of colonization might overlook the diverse interactions and exchanges that occurred during that era. When a community’s identity becomes solely defined by a tragic event, preventing the exploration of other aspects of their cultural heritage.

Today, we associate the African continent with poverty, misery and crumbling structures as left behind by the colonial period, ignoring the rich culture, tradition and heritage that existed before that. Such an overemphasis of negative associations might lead to erosion of sense of identity and pride in one’s existence. Similarly, when such narratives are constantly reinforced, they may lead to a rise in feeling of victimhood and associated helplessness in those sections. This creates social as well as psychological barriers for them and prevents them from achieving their true potential.

For overall society also, it may result in perpetuation of feelings of alienation and give birth to narratives like us vs. them. If such feelings are not countered in a nuanced and sensitive manner, they give birth to various conflicts, some examples of which we see in the form of ethnic, racial, caste, religious as well as political confrontations.

History in India has suffered from the issue of homogenization and specification. Most of our recorded history is commissioned by those living in power centres like capitals or courts. The stories of regional kingdoms, those living outside the ambit of courts, tribals, women etc. are missing and we must attempt to find those stories to understand the mammoth that India has been since times immemorial. To overcome this, we need to address the positive contributions of all and embrace collective history.

If we continue to portray the unbalanced as well as negative narrative, it will make our understanding narrow, and we may lose the overall perspective. In diplomacy, if we continue to focus on the relationships in the past, we may never be able to move forward. Such an example is provided by Germany, which not only owned its darkest past of holocaust but was not tied down by. It actively pursued legal accountability for those responsible for war crimes and atrocities through The Nuremberg Trials. Germany has engaged in reconciliation efforts with its neighbours and former victims by establishing strong diplomatic relationships with countries it previously occupied or fought against.

Thus, just like feel good history, feel bad history hinders progress and growth as it too limits one’s understanding of complex nuances and makes one biased to a certain type of narrative. The answer to one extreme, hence, cannot be the other extreme but it lies in a balanced and open-minded approach to looking at things. Therefore, any approach for telling history needs to be both honest and inclusive in nature based on facts and unbiased telling of events.

The Sanskrit word for history is “Itihasa” which means that “this is what happened” and it defines the way how history should be told. Thus, honesty in recording, recalling and retelling history is important to embrace the complexity of historical events by recognizing that they are often shaped by multiple factors and perspectives.. For instance, if it talks about the scientific and technological progress made during various Industrial revolutions, it must also acknowledge the atrocities committed, the inequality created and the irreversible destruction of the environment arising out of that progress.

Honest history needs courage to confront uncomfortable truths, such as atrocities and injustices, without sugarcoating or avoidance. It gives a starting point to reconcile with the ugly truth and move on to make the world a better place altogether. Such an initiative is shown by Japan which has taken steps to acknowledge its aggressive imperialist actions during World War II, including its occupation of various Asian countries and the use of “comfort women” for sexual slavery. Japanese leaders have offered apologies and expressed remorse for the suffering caused by these actions.

Inclusive history also encourages critical thinking by presenting a range of viewpoints and evidence. By analysing multiple perspectives on historical events, individuals can develop a deeper understanding of the complexities involved. It provides context for decisions and actions taken in the past, considering the social, political, and economic circumstances of the time. Similarly, inclusive history adds more dimensions and perspective to the overall narratives. It ensures that marginalized voices are heard and integrated into the narrative and different social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds are given their due importance.

As we live in the age of information, we are in more need of a critical mind and level headedness than ever before. It is very easy today to ignite a fire of distrust, hatred and violence based on partial and biased narratives. In this post truth era, we are witnessing a whitewash of history based on the invested interest of a few. However, the impact is felt by the whole society and more disproportionately by the lower rungs of it.

As it is well known that Satyamev Jayate i.e. truth always triumphs, we cannot hide or whitewash the truth as per our convenience. Thus, the need for time is not to rewrite history in a particular color or emotion, but present facts as they are and more than that help individuals in our society to develop the art of critical thinking and objective analysis. We must work to create an environment where the sense of judgment of any narrative is ruled by values like justness, fairness, and compassion. We need to learn from our past, not hide from it. As Maya Angelou said – History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

EXTRA EDGE:

Useful quotes: 

• “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
• “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” – Nathaniel Branden
• “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” – Maya Angelou
• “A nation that does not know its history is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey
• “To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.” – Chinese Proverb
• “You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.” – Sam Levenson
• “He who does not know his history is doomed to repeat its mistakes”- Otto von Bismarck
• “A society that forgets its past has no future.” – Winston Churchill