Jingoism in history

History is a field that should teach us a lot - provided that we are willing to learn. The fascination of history itself lies in the simple fact that no one really knows what happened. As my favourite historian once said "There is no fun in really being there, the fun comes from sifting through available materials and coming to a conclusion, but still not knowing whether you are right or wrong."

So how is everyone so convinced that history is one-sided? I remember how in school, all the history books would give historical information based on the political climate. I mean, how does it matter what is going on now? It has absolutely no bearing on what happened before. Even if politics is not kept out of schools, history is! Jingoism does not go along with history. We might be a great nation, but distorting facts or interpreting them on a tangent is doing a disservice to our heritage.

Jodha Akbar was a bad movie historically, but Akbar did have several Rajput wives ... why dispute it? Hitler might have been the cornerstone of evil done to Jews, but why conveniently forget that the majority of the people of Germany, Poland and Austria supported him? Alexander might have lost his final war, but why forget that he connected Europe, Africa and Asia? Historical figures are people, and hence have several dimensions.

Nationalistic history or history as something unshakeable is a pet hate of mine, and hence this blog to kick off my first contribution. Discussion is what keeps history alive, so let's go ahead and do it!