History is beyond the defining power. History is the presentation of facts about human past interpreted by historians. There is no right and wrong fact in history. The only certainty is the existence of artefacts. But what they represent and prove is also subject to interpretation. It is the written document available to us. History tells us about our past, the culture and tradition of ages gone by, and the rules that have governed human existence.
Historians are the observers and participants of that which occurs. They are the storytellers of time. They witness all and then document, based on their perspective and the belief of the time they are living in. History is the opinionated presentation of events thus. Benedetto Croce had rightly said – “All history is contemporary history.” That which is past is also recounted in perspective. There are several archival records available to us, each by a different historian or School of Thought. Thus it is not quite possible to discern facts from views.
History thus has various Schools of Thought. Each of them is distinguished on the basis of their ideology and perspective. There is a liberal school in contradiction to the school of orthodox thinking. In India, the Nationalist School of Thought occupies a significant position among historian schools. Marxist School of Thought is another important one. The ideas and views of the members of various schools do not match; they contradict. A fact is thus at their disposal, to be twisted, modified and then served to us.
Today, history is not considered as the factual word of the past. We do not know if what we are being taught today will be the same tomorrow. It is subject to change faster that in any other discipline of study. Yet, it is essential. It educates us about the life before us, how humans evolved from apes, the follies of the ages. Study of history provides us a scope to contribute to human development by studying it through ages. It is vast and never ending, all pervasive, all inclusive study of humankind. It has no boundaries. History allows us to explore, research, think and deduce.
Because of the liberty granted by history to have an independent point of view, it has come into conflict. We are an intolerant generation and do not respect nor accept a thinking process different from ours. The emphasis on what the syllabus should be in schools, and which School of Thought should be the basis of study, proves this point. Every other day history comes into conflict. There doesn’t exist a censor board, but we regard ourselves as honorary members of the virtual censorship board for study of history. A subject cannot exploit its scope of study if it is bound by the narrow outlook of the society. We need to provide history with the independence of function.
History is not a lone field of study. Every subject, be it science or commerce, geography or literature, they all have a history of birth and development. When an educational institute teaches a subject to its students, the first teaching is on the history of the subject. This is proof enough of its validity to exist. Thus those who do not like the study of Humanities, should wake up to the need of history, its benefits and usefulness. History is the foremost field of study and life.
