History is taught at all levels in the education sector. From primary education to secondary and higher education. There are history textbooks, which attempt to convey the official view of history to students. Thus the teaching of history, whether taught under Pakistan Studies or as a subject of history, presents a one-sided picture of the past, in which our forefathers have made outstanding achievements.
But wherever they fail, it is not their own incompetence but the result of the conspiracies of the traitors. There is so much homogeneity and self-delusion in this one-sided history that students lose interest and some become so humbled that they are not attracted to studies after completing formal education.
Let’s take a look at why history awareness is important in today’s education. A fundamental question that today’s students often ask is what is the need to read and understand history in the present day. Here present means 21st century and history means something that has passed before the present. Some historians in the field of education include events ten years before today and earlier.
That is, if we calculate from 2023, all the events before 2013 should be included in the history curriculum. One of the pitfalls of the history curriculum in Pakistan is that it covers everyone from the Mughal Empire and Qutb-ud-Din Aibak to the Lodhi dynasty, but recent history is almost non-existent. Similarly, our children get tired of reciting the Fourteen Points of Quaid-i-Azam along with the two-nation theory and the Nehru Report, but they do not even remember the names of the first three Prime Ministers of Pakistan. If you don’t believe, ask someone the name of the first president of Pakistan, hardly anyone can tell that the correct answer is Major General Iskandar Mirza.
Another problem in our education is that history is limited to political history only, i.e. you will be taught about Siraj-ud-Daulah and Tipu Sultan’s fight against the British, but hardly anything is taught about Tipu Sultan’s libraries and the evolution of science and arts in Bengal. go Similarly, the history of the British occupation of Sindh and Punjab will be taught, but very little will be told about the evolution of Punjab University or the educational institutions of Sindh.
Interest in history can be created in education only when it is not limited to political history but it includes socio-economic, history, education and training, science and technology, constitutional and legal evolution, external relations, environmental, History of human rights and democracy etc. should be included.
The history curriculum in education should not be used to extol the virtues of any one religion or sect, nor should it be hostile towards other religions or sects.
The correct education of history will be the one in which it is said to analyze impartial situations, events and personalities. For example, instead of saying that Aurangzeb used to sew hats or that the British and Hindus were conspiring against Muslims, it should be said that during Aurangzeb’s reign, much more than wearing hats and fighting wars happened. What progress was made in science and arts and if it could not be done, what were the reasons for it. Similarly, instead of the alleged conspiracies of the British and Hindus, the student should explain what were the interests of the British, Hindus and Muslims and for what purposes. were working
A good student should read more books than history textbooks about what good and bad things were done in the name of religion and religion and to what extent unnecessary violence was involved and how much bloodshed there was. Those who could have been avoided and those people continued to be thrown into wars for the promotion of a particular ideology or simply for achieving economic interests. Thus, it is important to read the history of non-violence to see how the pioneers of non-violence left an impact on society in comparison to those who practiced violence – from Jabir Ibn Hayyan and Al-Biruni to Ibn Sina and Dr. Abd al-Salam. Charak was on K.
In the history of arts, from literature and poetry to dance and music and from painting to drama and drama, they are part of history. A good student of history tries to understand why the arts flourish in some societies, while dance and music die out in others. This can help us compare why the arts need to be promoted in society and how it can spread attitudes of tolerance and tolerance.
Similarly, by reading the history of faiths, we can learn that many sects did not exist at the beginning of religions and that sectarianism is actually a much later product that some people take advantage of. For example, Deobandi, Barelvi, Wahhabi or Ahmadi and Ismaili etc did not exist in the beginning of Islam. This knowledge of history encourages us to avoid sectarianism. In this way, the teaching of Catholicism and Protestantism or Orthodoxy etc. in the Christian religion did not exist in the beginning.
From the history of higher sciences, we get an awareness of the evolution of knowledge and the obstacles faced by it in history. Therefore, it may be an official requirement to tie the education of history into a fixed curriculum, but not at all for the students. They read textbooks of course to crack the exam but read a lot more to get knowledge of history.
As we said earlier that every situation and events that have passed before ten years should be considered as a part of history and should be read about. Most of the people do not keep themselves aware of the current situation and if they do, only superficially, so they don’t even remember the history of ten years ago. Another important thing about history in education is that it is not enough to just read history, but its understanding and interpretation is also very important. Novices can interpret history according to their own ideas.
Therefore, it is important to keep in mind the personal tendencies of the historian while reading history. For example, while reading the historical novels of Naseem Hijazi, one should keep in mind how they are presenting the history. Are the current situations and events in his writings based on reality or are they more opinionated? Similarly, while reading the writings of Dr. Mubarak Ali, it should be kept in mind that he is a historian who studies history objectively, that is, based on evidence. but invites examination which is the foundation of enlightened thought.
Now the question is, why is it necessary to repeat the things of the past or to try to understand them in the present era i.e. 21st century Pakistan, when people are completely immersed in the problems of their present and future?
When the majority of people are engaged in the pursuit of non-shabina and the remaining minority is engaged in accumulating wealth, what is the meaning of remembering the past era or learning from it?
It can be asked that if a person is not attached to the past, he also spends his life, then what is the importance of history?
Perhaps this is where we should first talk about the human way of life. It is probably true that as far as living is concerned, it can be lived without reading and understanding history, just as one can live without reading literature or understanding science and technology. Life can be lived while destroying the environment and staying away from education, and many do. But can such a life be called a decent life or an admirable life in today’s era? Can such a life be called the life of a responsible person who considers himself exempt from the above responsibilities?
If the answer is yes, then it would be useless to say more, but obviously the answer cannot be yes unless the answerer stands at the height of personal selfishness.
A good man is above the kind of selfishness that confines him to himself.
Now the next question is that when we talk about a good person, what do we mean by it?
Can a laborer who has not acquired the knowledge of history not be a good person? Is it necessary to study history to become a good person? Of course, an uneducated laborer can be a good person and a person who studies history can also be a bad person. Probably Ali Abbas Jalal Puri had written somewhere that if even by studying your hatred and prejudice does not decrease, then you are reading wrong books. Similarly, a businessman without history can also have the signs of a good person. But he cannot be called a complete human being, that is, there can be many levels of being a completely good human being and all people can occupy different levels in this hierarchy.
If there are different levels of becoming a good person, then they should also include that they are socially and politically aware and have a desire to improve the society. They realize their personal, family and social responsibilities and try to fulfill them. They try to protect themselves from physical and mental diseases. They are balanced in their personality and try to maintain, develop and impart creativity to others. They are free from possible prejudices other than color, race, religion and gender. Encourage social diversity, openness and diversity. According to Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi
Who and where are the pens from the illusion?
Otherwise, one color, the words of faith
Moreover, good people believe in non-violence and raise their voice against militancy. They are tolerant, tolerant and forgiving. They have curiosity and a desire to know, and they have the ability to connect knowledge with action by seeking knowledge. They are confident and optimistic and above all, they do not try to impose their ideas and opinions on others, nor do they allow or encourage others to do so.
Now again the same question that if a good person should have all these qualities, then what is their relationship with history? This is the point from which perhaps the importance of history can be understood in today’s era and perhaps from here students, the reader will be attracted to understand and interpret the past. Probably, the things and factors that are needed in the formation of a good human being cannot be obtained by turning away from history. Just as a healthy human body is healthy in every part of it, a good and healthy society has to take care of the health of every part of it. Similarly, by ignoring social history, we can only gloat in the dark about what we are doing.
