History as it should be

By Shehar Bano

 A student of history studying the local curriculum entitled, 'Pakistan-Studies' is treated to the same subject matter which forms the content of the expressions uttered by opinion leaders and long established (safe) proclamations decrying India as a satanic entity. A little older and you are actually taught to hate all other statesmen who held conflicting views towards the ideology of Pakistan, irrelevant of the fact that they were otherwise statesmen of worth for their own nation and from whose attributes a worthwhile tip or two would work wonders for our politicians.

Then comes the sound of your teacher who is only too willing to consolidate the familial views of antipathy against the subcontinent's larger half. By the time you are in college, the mind is pounding with adrenaline to take up India in a cricket match, if not the battlefield. And thereby ends the first lesson in history. Hence, we come a full circle.

The second phase of history learning begins with the authors glorifying the martyrs of the wars with - none other than - India. Somewhere in the middle of the curriculum, the Mughal dynasty is given some space to memorize its lineage, leaving out their many weaknesses. The role of non-Muslims of history or their achievements is, well, not a part of history. Essentially, the aim of teaching history in Pakistan is to view the past through the mindset of the author: biases are overlooked; facts are wrapped up in bigotry. Any deviation from this sacrosanct method of teaching is tantamount to betrayal and perfidy. Any allowance for discourse is discouraged. And we remain blissfully ignorant, eternally prejudiced and regrettably disinformed. History becomes a tool of the state.

Dr Mubarak Ali, a great historian whose scholarship is admired globally, believes that the approach of Muslim historians is to deal with the subject in line with a 'conspiracy theory', discounting the essential socio-economic and political factors. The inclusion of this theory makes the work of a historian less cumbersome. However, it takes a heavy toll on facts and the subsequent portrayal of truth. "No attempt is made to analyze the complexities of events and to find out the root causes of crises," argues Dr Mubarak Ali. There is either a Jewish conspiracy or a Hindu conspiracy, ignoring the role of the greatest conspirators of all, the Europeans. "Such historians distort facts and believe in the principle that when you don't like the past, change it," says Dr M Ali.

To review the various aspects of history, Dr Mubarak Ali suggests a reader should consider who the historian is and to keep in mind the period in which it was written. "For example, Shams Siraj Afif, a famous historian of Firuz Shah's period, praised the emperor in Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi, deliberately leaving out the rampant corruption of his rule," reveals Dr Mubarak. As a historian patronized by the court, Shams Siraj Afif could not highlight the incapabilities and shortcomings of Firuz Shah's rule. A marked contrast can be found in the writings of Akbar's court historian, Abul Fazl, who deified the Mughal emperor, and the unofficial Badauni. "It is important that a reader should have all the accounts before him. Analysis should not be based on the official documentation only. There are always two parallel versions of history, institutional and anti-institutional," he says.

Historians following an unbiased and factual trail usually end up bearing the cross of state persecution and, sometimes, infamy for stoking rebellion. A state based on creaky foundations desperately needs false propaganda for its survival. It tries to steer the masses away from the truth by giving the impression of stability. Any picture of bleakness and doom painted by a writer is quickly removed from the reading shelves. "The ruling classes are only interestedted in projecting an immaculate image and preserving an apparently honest and dignified role in history, which they achieve by manipulating official documents." Dr Mubarak Ali cites a classic example of the use of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's speeches to suit the interests of the class in power.

As a nation we have not yet overcome the insecurities of the past. To this day, every successive government, political or military, keeps a vice-like hold on the forces of truth to squash dissension. The dicey nature of Pakistan's politics is a constant reminder to the ruling elite that history should be used to justify political, economic and social misdeeds, not to remove past prejudices.

One of the most dangerous trends in our society is to intertwine every institution, every event with religion. "Most of our historiography originates from religion, barring an objective evaluation of facts," Says Dr Mubarak. These religious 'constructs' block room for healthy criticism and choke history from running its natural flow. "An extremely poisonous element in our historiography is the communal hatred which we inherited from the pre-independence period. As long as you pull an anti-Indian string, you are authentic. Otherwise..... You know what happens," muses Dr Mubarak Ali with a smile.

"Our misfortune is that a constricted educational system here does not produce knowledge. We are not writing our history. It is the Americans, the Germans, the British and the scholars of those countries who come here to do research on our culture, our society and our past. Our education needs to be overhauled.

"Personally, I believe that there is a great need to learn from the Indian historians rather than to reject or condemn them without reading and understanding them. One of the reasons of our ignorance is that we don't have access to the historical literature which is publishing in India. We also don't have any contact with the Indian historians on an institutional level. We assume that Indian historians distort history without bothering to read them. How can a student of history ever know that even during the colonial period nearly all major research works on the Mediaeval (Muslim) period was done by the Hindu historians such as Ishwari Prasad, Saksena, Beni Prasad and Qanungo. It is not the Indians who are distorting history but the Pakistanis. This is the real challenge that we are facing: within our own society and not across the border," reveals Dr Mubarak Ali.

Clearly, we cannot change history, but we can rewrite it. A good beginning would be to give respect to the leaders of other countries and not derogate them to the level of mobsters and thugs unnecessarily. An even better beginning would be to make history a source of human network, not hatred.