What are the key challenges we face in the task of developing a historical temper in India? How can they be overcome?
Who has the right to interpretation among history, especially about the past of our nation is the main controversial thing even in present India. Nowadays historical discussion has been in the street and public meetings rather than a classroom and seminar hall. It's the main reason to have problems and controversialist based on false sources of history.
The silent battle in the field of writing history started after the British rule India. The British historian like Villain Smith and Alfred Lyall divided our nation's history based on religion and caste. They were trying to make it possible to long rule in India and establishing a strong domine in our country. They divided three lines as a Hindu, Muslim, Christian when describing the past. After independence, the Hindu right-wing who communal nationalist history writers used the history written by the British historians for making their agenda ideal.
A different interpretation of different history writers is a big challenge that faces in the developing historical temper. The orientalist's history writing method was glorifying the Indian past in the spiritual field but they were supported British, that they were saying Indian had not developed country before British arrival, they wrote British rulers made India as a developed nation in the modern trade and technology, actually they were forgotten the real past of the Indians which the earliest rulers did improvements in the nation. The communal nationalist approach has given new meaning and intention to history, they were negotiating and communalizing our past. They explained the past like continues fighting between the Hindu and Muslims, and Hindhu were oppressed by the Muslim rulers. Still, these writers have dominated history writing.
Subaltern history writers focused on present issues like gender and caste. Secular history writers like Romila Thapar focused to look at history in a real manner since 21 st century. The battle between the secular and communal have happened since the staring of secular's attempt. They change the explanation of the Indian past as a Hindhu and Muslim into the Ancient, medieval, and modern. Different attempts have been made by these writers. Professional history writers accepted the way that describing history in a real manner by rewriting and publishing the textbook. A central government chose that task as writing the NCRT textbook and building the CBSE syllabus.
The NCERT textbook and CBSE syllabus work started in 1961 by criticizing the past and communal stereotypes. Their main objectives were decolonizing textbooks and giving the right interpretation especially after the independence which happened more communalism based on the false history approach. The communal writers keep the fight against the secular, in 1977 they settled a protest against withdrawing the NCERT textbook. In 1999 they erased some element part in the history like ancient Hindhu were eating beef. Even NCERT text was published, still, the different state has the right to write history by the special board which have under the state. When translating to regional language, and teacher while teaching would give the false interpretation. When authentic textbooks exist, still controversies are remaining because of this.
If we look at into the recent issues which happened in India, they were happened based on false interpretation like issues about the Babari masjid. The argument about the Tippu sultan still remained us. They were explaining the Tippu as a Hindu oppressor and who demolish the temples. Because we can’t build an international airport or university in the name of the Tippu sultan. We know what happened when the Karnataka state government announces the Tippu Jayanthi celebration and why rejected it later. Even the textbook says that many Mughal rulers like Aurangazeb were killed the Hindus, and tray to erase the Hindu religion.
The possibility of making real sense of history is very difficult in the current situation Should discuss history in the education campus rather than in the public meeting and political field. Every Indian should get the real face of history by the school itself. There should be continues in the works of secular history writers.
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