History as a subject is fascinating. It is full of lores, stories, legends, great conquests of mankind and the development of technology with the spread of civilisation. But is history the study of how dinosaurs lived and evolved? No, that is palaeontology. Is history the study of how continents and oceans are formed? The answer is again, no. That is geology. So what exactly is history? While there are several definitions by different historians of different periods and different schools of thought, my description of history would be that, ‘History is the study of the past, mostly human past, covering aspects of society and its economy and polity and how the changes of a time impact later periods’. Historical stories tell us where we came from, what we did, how we survived when others perished and how far we need to go to have a better life. So why should we study history when it is passed on to us by our parents, grandparents and just about anyone of the generations before us? And if there is a need to study then how to study history?
“The past should be studied so that we can understand the present.”
– Romila Thapar
Why should History be studied?
Our future is a reflection of our past. To see our future better we must look into the mirror of our past. An instance to understand this better would be the philosophy of ‘Unity in diversity’. Our nation, in fact, the whole subcontinent, fought for our independence keeping the philosophy of ‘unity in diversity’ in mind. Why we had to be united? To fight off colonialists. Why was the diversity? Geographical and hence cultural diversity. We had united regardless of our differences to fight a common enemy and continued to be a nation-state. The very foundation of our nation is based on this philosophy. So is there any precedent in history where the entire subcontinent was united? Yes, if we ignore the current political borders of the Republic of India, the subcontinent (with an exception of the frontiers) was united under a kingdom multiple times. We can take the Mauryan empire under Ashoka as an anecdote. Ashoka or Ashoka the Great, so said in Buddhist scriptures, annexed, conquered and consolidated a vast empire under his reign, the foundation of which was set by his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya. Ashoka had an extensive and proper administration in place to govern such a vast territory. Similarly, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar and the Tughlaq dynasty Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq (a considerable area to the east in the peninsula was not under Tughlaq’s control), major parts of the subcontinent were united. Although the concept of India as a nation-state came during the early 20th century, the people of the subcontinent were not new to the concept of Unity in Diversity. Ashoka, Tughlaq and Akbar lived in different eras. The ways they achieved this unity were different. In modern times Gandhi and the members of the Indian National Congress party worked for the unity of the people of the sub-continent. The ways they worked to achieve this unity were different. This is just one reason to study history. To understand how certain events in the timeline of humanity are similar yet different, or certain events seem different yet they are similar in many aspects.
Another motive to study history would be the political scenario of the present. The polity of the present is heavily influenced by the policies of the past. And no, I am not talking about just conventional legislative politics. Any policy, be it in the legislature of diplomacy or something as simple as a small business of the present, is influenced by the past and the underlying economic aspect. Say trade routes such as the silk route was a route via which goods and men travelled from one country, even continent, to another in search of better value for their produce and labour. While it looked good to everyone, the economic policies (read greed) of some led to conflicts. As a consequence of those conflicts, the Europeans started looking for another route, maybe by the sea to bypass the silk route and yet continue the trade. It was all influenced by the economy. The policies of states changed accordingly. Colonies were set up to increase wealth inflow. Events like these resulted in colonialism in India and our subsequent struggle for independence. These facts, although very roughly put, should impart the idea or answer to the question ‘Why should history be studied?’
How History should be studied?
History is a vast subject to study. Not because of the facts encompassing thousands of years, but because those facts are related to one another. For instance, the plunder of the trade caravans on the silk route by arab traders led to colonialism in India. Sounds nonsensical. But it was one of the factors that led to the eventual British monopoly in India and the oppression of its people. So how should we study history to understand a piece of it better? Well, there is no algorithm as such. History is a huge basket of facts, dates and events, but the understanding and interpretation of its implications are subjective. So the first point on the list of ‘how to study history’ would be questioning. Questioning stories are very important as stories are the first and most extensive form of narrated history and verification of stories would lead to a better understanding of history and refine its interpretations. Therefore, how to study history is essentially how to verify the stories and understand history better.
To verify a story or an account we can look into various sources.
Primary sources
These are first-hand accounts of history such as letters, government orders, royal decrees, diaries, photographs or any artifacts. The Indus Valley Civilization or civilization in India for that matter was told in many ancient texts, however, its discovery was formally announced in 1924 by John Marshall, the then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. This came as a result of the excavations done by Daya Ram Sahni in Harappa in 1920 and Rakhaldas Bannerji in Mohenjodaro in 1921. This discovery made many revelations and clarified many facts about the civilization. The history of Buddhism in the Krishna basin was clarified by the excavations in and around Kanaganahalli during 1994-97 when many artifacts were discovered there. Rock inscriptions and edicts tell a lot that happened during the days they were erected. Scripts are deciphered and decoded to learn stories of the past.
Secondary sources
These sources are mostly studies and analyses of primary sources. Primary sources are analysed and articulated into texts, books, journal articles, etc. Biographies are secondary sources too. While writing this essay, I am referring to a few books so that I get the names and dates and some facts right. These books are secondary sources. This essay however cannot be used as a source rather it might impart ideas to get sources to look for more details.
Archaeological sources
Albeit archaeology maybe sometimes considered a part of history, it is actually the study of the human race and their activity over time through the recovery and analysis of material culture. However archaeological findings can give considerable insight into history as well as it can substantiate other written or orally passed anecdotes. Findings are analysed to get an understanding of the cultural aspects of a society which was otherwise unknown. Archaeological findings can also shed light on cultural interminglings that might have taken place in a certain period of time.
Other sources
Music, folk culture, dances etc., can also give us insights into the history of a place. Literature, art, museum collections, archives. Etc can also be used as supporting sources.
We have looked into why history should be studied and how it should be studied. To understand our present better we must dive into different accounts and sources from the past. Wrong interpretations of history can be very dangerous. Some historians even call distorted history suicidal for a society or community. To avoid a wrong understanding of history it is imperative not to rely on a single source and verify any information or accounts in other sources. Only when the authenticity of information is confirmed it shall be shared. However, it is highly likely that sticking to a piece of information without keeping an open mind might make a researcher a casualty of confirmation bias. It is when a researcher looks for sources that verify their interpretation without making them realise that they might be understanding the fact wrong. Therefore, an open mind and a zeal to study various sources can help us study history and answer a lot of ‘Why’s and ‘What’s of the past and present.
If you liked reading this you might also like ‘How Mughal emperors looked like in real life and how they are portrayed on screen‘
Read more on early/ancient history
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A HISTORY OF ANCIENT AND EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA – Upinder Singh
- Early India: From the origins to early 1300AD – Romila Thapar
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HnsGlobeTrotter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
