- Does history forgive everything?
‘…I know that imprisonment will be harder for me than it has ever been for anyone, filled with cowardly threats and hideous cruelty. But I do not fear prison, as I do not fear the fury of the miserable tyrant who took the lives of 70 of my comrades. Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.’
– Fidel Castro
When Castro led an armed revolt against the Moncada Barracks, he was caught; his 70 comrades killed; and he left alone before the court. His tone is aggrieved, yet he defies the base instrument of imprisonment as a way to crush his spirit. He talks of his return as foreboding, yet, is didactic when he talks about justice, love and humanity. But the question is, does history really absolve everything? Is it that easy to deal with the skeletons in one’s cupboard-at a national level?
Nations emerge in history through playing active roles: in their own citizens’ welfare; and bettering the world. Pride springs from a nation’s contribution: in education, politics, technology, architecture, and peace. Blunders by nations include social discrimination, ethnic cleansing, corruption, or draconian laws. Moguls are known for exquisite architectural designs. Though in part due to the length of their rule and the lands they invaded, their renown is mostly due to structures like the Taj Mahal, and the Red Fort. Their rival Sher Shah Suri founded a postal and canal system, and the Grand Trunk Road, which the Moguls continued. Thus, social welfare, too, can be attributed to the Moguls.
While we see nations pose to the world as achievers, there is always a flipside; however, some have more positives to celebrate and fewer negatives to lament. The USA is taken as a land of opportunities. Take Bill Gates. At a mediocre post in a firm, he went on to take it over and developed the renowned Microsoft Corporation, becoming one of the world’s richest men. The lesson is that individual effort does not go in vain in the USA, success rewards hard work, incentivising the populace. The way basic human rights are given to each citizen in the USA, and the freedom, pluralism, and egalitarianism in terms of speech, action, and religion, is worthy of pride for it.
So while we debate whether history does absolve misdeeds, memory is a major obstacle to bringing nations to account. Years blur memories of oppression. While misdeeds and their records remain in history books, memory absolves past events
Similarly, The USA has come full circle from its treatment of slaves. Emerging from their inherent bias, in 2008, Americans elected Barack Obama president. This shall go into history as a great leap in the struggle to free African-Americans from racial discrimination. However, a look at the state of affairs in the USA for African-Americans will reveal a continuum of suffering. The skeleton of racial prejudice in the US cupboard will haunt them for generations to come. And that keeps manifesting itself; as when Obama was called a ‘nigger’ openly by a representative; or, how blacks living in rundown conditions in the USA are forced into crimes of all categories to alleviate their abject poverty. Nevertheless, the apparent emancipation of Blacks from the old draconian laws remains better and brighter. National histories are thus strewn with flipsides!
Similarly, the British and European principles of social equality are laudable. These are indeed welfare states. Old-age benefits are enjoyed there and, consequently, the sense of security imparted to old people is commendable. In addition, their advances in technology are a benchmark. However, David Cameron’s apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, showed a flip side, how nations after decades cannot overcome the ill-repute and guilt of past misdeeds.
In 1947 the world witnessed the largest migration till date, at the partition of India. Millions of Muslims rallied behind Muhammad Ali Jinnah for a separate homeland. Again, this was a move that transformed the lives and fates of many.
There are also uncountable incidents and twists in the history of countries that yield disappointment more than achievement. Such nations have more to lament than celebrate, and hence are looked down upon by the world as aggressors and rogue states: the “axis of evil”!
The existence of political turmoil, corruption, and hypocrisy in terms of political agendas, and the denial of the very basic human rights across all spectra of the society, are highly regrettable for any nation. Pakistan, for whose sovereignty our forefathers who fought tooth and nail again finds itself enslaved by foreign powers and their vested interests, its basic right to decide our own destiny denied!
The US prisons– among which Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq rank highest in brutality– are responsible for gross human rights violations and dehumanisation. Stripping men and perceived criminals of their dignity, they are doing more harm to world peace than good. The seeds of discontent will grow into blazing brands of retaliation, which will eventually spread their branches worldwide, and then no hollow claims of these champions of “human rights protection” will help. If the shoe were on the other foot, and Iran had prisons full of US “terror” suspects subject to torture, the US would not hesitate in exercising its might in both retaliation and punitive retribution.
Injustice breeds injustice. This can be witnessed in Kashmir. The forces on either side have been exhausted for too long. To an ordinary bystander, it seems a lost cause that augurs more destruction. The voices of Kashmiris have long been throttled out of existence- what remains are the “burnt shadows” of the slightest prospect of a brighter tomorrow. The Kashmiris probably need another century to cope with the losses inflicted on them, before they can learn to stand on their own two feet. It is a failure more of India that went to the UN first and keeps backing off at Pakistan’s reminders.
Israel continues to oppress Palestinians. Gaza is being taken apart by the Israeli tanks and gunship helicopters. This, and the many infractions of international law by Israel, will always be remembered as their share of darkness gifted to the world.
The disintegration of the USSR in the Afghan War is irrevocable, and in this faltering Soviet policies are culpable. So was the 1971 break-up of Pakistan. We, like all nations, have a history of unparalleled blunders.
No nation can be considered free from these incongruities, injustices, and inequities; but none is a total failure either. Failures polish the talent contained in a nation; which lets it achieve the heights. The world never forgives those who fail to learn. It turns on them and teaches them a lesson. Pakistan today is a classic instance of our joint failures and negligence, thus creating for us a Frankenstein that has more or less gone beyond our practical control. The sad tragedy is that the world has finally turned on us.
While nations walk om a tightrope, between the good and evil of their history, intelligent nations learn from their failures, instead of lamenting them. History cannot be compartmentalised into success for some and humiliation for others. History is a mirror to the manipulations of individuals, whose actions determine the strengths or the weaknesses for any nation and, hence, its history.
So while we debate whether history does absolve misdeeds, memory is a major obstacle to bringing nations to account. Years blur memories of oppression. While misdeeds and their records remain in history books, memory absolves past events.
