Teaching History

Many newspaper websites were flooded with pictures of persons taking part in the commemoration of 1857's mutiny. Yes, those men and women who braved death sparked the first fires of our independence. We ought to be proud of their bravery, but does that mean we consider everybody and everything that "our side" did during that period "saintly"? Do we now, this day, have the courage to accept that killing women and children in British safe- houses was not very honorable?

I am not one to say that all that the East India company did was correct. Often their acts were heinous. But should we, as so called children of the Mahatma, neglect one of his greatest teachings...the teaching being, having the boldness to understand one's own flaws first before pointing out the flaws in others. History can be like an euphoric drug...indulge in it, and one forgets the truths lying deep within. Let us not partake in such dishonesty. Let us not say that all that our forefathers did was right. Let us not scribble every act of murder into our historic records as heroism.


If all this reads too negative, let me pose you a question, "How do you think the British should teach the history of the British Raj in Britain?" Should they teach history as we do? Should they transcribe every historic crime into sweet cream?