Political history: ‘We need a history based on facts, not animosity’

Speakers at Revisit History, Outgrow Nostalgia seminar discuss the creation of historical discourse.

LAHORE:

“Nationalism has no singular definition. It has varied interpretations and no one interpretation can be applied to every case. It is an abstract slogan, as can be seen through its usage during 1947 and 1971,” writer Syed Hasan Jaffar Zaidi said on Sunday at a seminar Revisit History, Outgrow Nostalgia.

The seminar was organised at the Aiwan-i-Iqbal by the Idara-i-Mutala-i-Tareekh. The seminar focused on political turmoil in Pakistan in the context of the country’s political history.

Zaidi, who has co-authored a series of 12 books with Zahid Chaudhry on Pakistan’s political history, said it was important to understand the narratives history created. “History is a unique system that determines its own dynamics. It is devoid of any wishful thinking, and there are no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ in history,” he said.

Journalist and writer Khaled Ahmed said multiple identities were important in ensuring tolerance in a society. Societies in the sub-continent, he said, had been characteristically pluralistic, which had made them more tolerant. Ahmed said several layers of Punjabi identity had been lost due to a self-imposed image that rendered Punjabis as custodians of the state.

“There is a lack of history books that focus on identity formation and its history, instead of animosity and enmity,” Dr Muhammad Waseem, visiting faculty at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, said at the seminar. He stressed the need for more work by historians in this regard. Waseem said, “Our history books have encapsulated much negativity. Our identities have been established through our enemies,” he said.

“The dilemma of our intellectual discourse is that our experts don’t support content with substantiated facts and evidence,” Yaqoob Bangash, professor at Forman Christian College’s History Department, said. Documented history, he argued, was the premise of discourse in historical narratives but in Pakistan the practice was otherwise. He said the role of religion in politics needed to be further explored. “The question regarding the concept of the nation remains understudied. Does being part of a nation mean we have to eat the same food, wear the same clothes and have the same thoughts?” he asked.

Chair of the Pakistan Study Centre at Karachi University Syed Jaffar Ahmed said history books had failed to educate the youth about the events that occurred in 1971. “The separation of East Pakistan in 1971 was the biggest event in the country’s history, yet we don’t teach our children anything about it.” He said the course of events leading up to 1971 could be seen taking place again in some form or the other in various parts of Pakistan.

“Why is provincial identity not being allowed to flourish? Why are regional languages not promoted?” Hameeda Ghanghro, a Sindhi activist, asked. Leader of the National Workers Party, Yousuf Masti Khan, discussed the Baloch rights movement. He said the leadership in Balochistan had always fought for the rights of its people, even as it was a part of the state of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2014.