There are no objective ways to resolve the contested historical evaluations of achievements and failures
LAHORE: There is a need for objective evaluation of history for shaping our values and deciding the next line of action. Kudos to your enlightening and fact-probing brief, “Contested history: the discovery of America” by Dr Asad Zaman (August 24). The closing lines of his article say it all: “We realise, Hitler is only reviled because he lost the battle. There are no objective ways to resolve the contested historical evaluations of achievements and failures. Nonetheless, these evaluations shape our values and guide our actions.”
Christopher Columbus, who is celebrated as a hero by the Western world, was responsible for the deaths of millions of Native Americans, who were eliminated so that their land and resources could be captured. He was no less a butcher than Genghis Khan and Joseph Stalin.
M Saleem Chaudhry
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2015.
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