- Since time immemorial, humankind has made fervent attempts to replicate or worst rewrite the historical happenings but invariably ended up hurting the present and the future. This fascination with past occurrences leading to mere mortals fervently attempting something unreasonable has always resulted in avoidable conflicts. No one would dispute or raise questions about what happened centuries or millennia back whose vestiges run deep even now. Yes, historical occurrences including innovations, inventions, developments, and spectacularly perpetual growth aspects have only helped mankind sustain improvements in living standards. What we are presently is largely because of the legacy left behind by the historical occurrence of various hues.
PC: ET Online and Agencies
- In the same vein, historical occurrences cannot be corrected or rewritten and must be obvious to the more educated and aware of humankind of the present day. But the human tendency to create trouble or initiate disturbances where none exists is a phenomenon that has only worsened over the years. Consequently, efforts are undertaken by people inimical to the interests of peaceful existence fomenting trouble most often than not. Harping on the past may provide momentary heft to the narrative but trust me, it can only go that far. One such worrisome incident is playing out in India presently. Look at how the Manipur crisis and its reverberations across the Northeast have brought fresh audiences to the region’s often fiercely contested histories.
- Reaching back into colonial and even pre-colonial times, these narratives of kings, empires, injustices, and entitlements and debates around them might sound interesting. But when applied to the present, they hold the danger of making the current crisis worse. The complaints or crimes of today must be judged by today’s standards and laws alone, not by citing history. Remember what the SC underlined in its Ayodhya judgment. One, with the adoption of the Constitution we the people of India, submitted to the rule of law. Two, historical wrongs cannot be remedied by anybody taking this law into their own hands. Incidentally, while we still pay the price of reckless British imperial cartography, look what Britain’s nostalgia for its empire has wrought.
PC: Reuters
- As you are aware, the Brexit vote, widely attributed to the fantasy about making Britain great again, accelerated the country’s economic decline. In Turkey, nostalgia for the Ottoman Empire has engendered a sultan-style governance model. Vladimir Putin’s febrile imagining of Russia’s golden age has not only upturned Europe’s decades of peace but inflicted hurt worldwide. Balance is the critical factor. Nostalgia can be an important philosophical support for communities in adverse circumstances. But a society in which recounting past glories or wounds becomes an obstacle for necessary restoration, is caught in a loss of the future trap. Thus, Manipur will never find peace via relitigating history. Mind you, history isn’t always helpful.
