Ram Puniyani
Currently Whatsapp University, as it is popularly called, dominates the scene in shaping popular perceptions. The academic historians who burnt midnight oil to produce history on the ground of rational scientific approach are labeled in a derogatory way and their massive oeuvre is being bypassed by the dominant political tendency. The worrying point is that the social perception currently being shaped through this medium is the most important tool in the hands of those who have a retrograde political agenda of Hindutva or Hindu Nationalism.
The point surfaced recently when a historian, William Dalrymple, whose books have been popular recently, in a chat with journalists concluded that “…As a result, you’ve got the growth of ‘WhatsApp history’ and ‘WhatsApp University.’ It was the failure of Indian academics to reach out to general audiences.” (Indian Express- Adda, 11Nove 2024)
This as per him is the source of present misplaced social perceptions like Aryans were the original inhabitants of this land, ‘we’ had all the scientific knowledge and things like Pushpak Viman (Aeroplanes), Plastic surgery, Genetic engineering and what have you. This is also the source of the ‘social common sense’ that Islam and Christianity are ‘foreign’ religions’, Muslim kings destroyed Hindu temples and wrought immense atrocities against Hindus; including spreading Islam by force. To add to the list Gandhi was anti-Hindu; India did not get freedom due to the National movement led by Gandhi. These misconceptions are ruling the roost in the minds of the majority of the people in the society.
This narrative is currently being highlighted by this medium, but this narration was there in the womb of a political tendency, the Hindu Communalism: represented mainly by RSS to begin with and later backed up by its progeny. During the freedom movement the dominant narrative was articulated by the national movement, which was inclusive. It understood that India is a ‘Nation in the making’. This was in contrast to the narration of marginal tendency that time, of Hindu nationalists, who held that Hindus are a nation from times immemorial. Muslim nationalists held that Muslim Nation began with Mohammad bin Kasim ruling Sindh in eighth century.
The roots of communal historiography lay in the British popularized books like those of James Mill (History of India), which divided the Indian History into Hindu Period, Muslim period and British period. On similar lines there was a multi-volume Elliot and Dawson’s, ‘History of India as told by her historians’. Both these were based on the notion that Kings were representatives of their religion. Hindu communal historiography began its march through RSS shakha baudhiks to begin with and later picked up through various conduits like Sarswati Shishu Mandirs, Ekal Vidyalays, their unofficial mouth pieces, Organiser, Panchjanya etc. After Lal Krishna Advani became Information and broadcasting Minister in Janata Party Government; the infiltration of this narrative began by using the Government mechanisms. Already there are signs that RSS volunteers are out to change the total education system and the content of history, social science and other books. Already a set of nine books authored by Mr. Dinanath Batra of Shiksha Bachao Abhiyan Samiti (Save Education Campaign Committee) an RSS affiliate, have been translated into Gujarati and introduced in 42000 schools in Gujarat. In total takeover of media by the BJP friendly Corporate (Adani, Ambani) converted most of the media sitting into the lap of the BJP. With BJP strengthening its IT cell, WhatsApp became the major mechanism of this narration. The best analysis of this one can be seen in the book by Swati Chaturvedi’s, ‘I was a troll’.
The academic historians also did write for schools text books and general readers. The most popular among the books by Romila Thapar’s which relate to Ancient Indian History. Irfan Habib has done major work in Medieval History and Bipan Chandra’s ‘India’s struggle for Independence’ must have gone through multiple reprints and editions. Many of these academic historians’ books were part of the NCERT syllabus in the 1980s. As BJP came to power in 1998 they began ‘saffronization of education’, which became much stronger after the BJP came to full majority in 2014. Now there is a talk of introducing this pseudo history and mythology into History in a full-fledged way.
Popular perceptions are just partly shaped by academic historians. The political tendencies which are dominating or ruling the country mainly shape the perceptions among large parts of society. Noam Chomsky, the linguist involved with human rights activism; propounded the concept of ‘Manufacturing Consent’. It articulated that the state governments manufacture a popular understanding like the plan of the Government to invade Vietnam or Iraq or other policies are for the benefit of society. Despite the outstanding work of historians the truth remains under shadows and the needs of the state or dominating political tendency shapes the popular common sense.
While one appreciates Dalrymple’s concern about the totally irrational understanding propagated by WhatsApp, the real issue is that as the Right Wing politics ascended and spread its wings in a very clever way, for its political agenda. Their constructed history has nothing to do with rational or academic history. In India in particular an attack has been unleashed against those who have pursued the discipline of history. The once fellow traveler of BJP, Arun Shourie, wrote a book against the historians of global repute and appreciated by their peers, ‘The Eminent Historians’. Even currently there are many who present a distorted version of History and are unleashing a barrage against those who do not subscribe to Hindu Nationalism.
In a sense WhatsApp is an add-on to the prevailing mechanisms of propaganda of Hindu nationalism. To popularize the work of rational scientific historians, more political and social groups have to come forward to work as a bridge from Historian to the people at large, to ensure that the social common sense, social perceptions are based on values of inclusiveness, scientific temper and Indian Nationalism. So far as academic historians can volunteer to write school books or more popular tracks, we should be grateful to them. WhatsApp’s success is more due to the rise of communal politics rather than failure of academic historians.
[From Newsclick]
