Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it, whoever said it, said it right!

X: @prashanthamine

 “Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it”, this famous quote is often attributed to the philosopher George Santayana. Critics argue that it is actually a misquotation of his comment, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Then the famous quote “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” – is also attributed to former, late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who is widely believed to have said it in 1948.

Whosoever, might have said it, has said it right.

There is a raging controversy going on over the depiction of Mughal and Maratha history in the just released Vicky Kaushal starrer historical Biopic “Chhaava”, produced by Laxman Utekar.

When it comes to producing historical Bio-pics our producers, directors have often in the name of cinematic liberties have often transgressed the thin line between history and fiction. Chhaava, initially was no exception, after a brief uproar over depiction of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in some scenes in the movie, the uproar died down following some strong political intervention from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNNS) chief Raj Thackeray

One might take the example of the 1982 Richard Attenborough’s historical Biopic “Gandhi”, on Mahatma Gandhi. Or the 2023 Christopher Nolan’s Bio-pic “Oppenheimer”, on the life of the modern-day father of the atomic bomb.

But when it comes to revered historical icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, there is little or no scope left for any cinematic liberties as it is bound to hurt the sensibilities of their ardently devout followers. As the makers of the 2018 Bollywood Biopic “Padmaavat” found much to their chagrin.

A similar situation had arisen with the 2015 Bollywood flick “Bajirao Mastani”, where more than the military exploits of Bajirao Peshwa I, the film chose to focus more on romanticising his personal relations.

Another important aspect that the government needs to seriously look at is to preserve the forts built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Maharana Pratap and ancient kings and queens.

Right now some of the forts built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj are in ruins and in urgent need of restoration. If this historical legacy is lost forever, it will be an irreparable loss for which history might not forgive us at all. Mere paying lip-service towards building world’s tallest statues of our icons is not enough, some doable actions in conserving the legacy that they left behind is the need of the hour.

Besides the often misinterpretation of our history in the name of cinematic liberty, the controversy has reopened the debate over what is now being called as hiding our history from plain sight. History of ancient India did exist much before the advent of the Moghul invaders, or the colonial powers like the British, the Portuguese, the French or the Dutch in some cases.

People have every right to know their factual history and that of their revered icons as they and the nation seeks to reclaim its lost historical and cultural identity from the clutches of marauding invaders or past colonial masters. There is now a growing demand from the former colonies, of their former colonial masters for Reparations, for the loot and plunder of their resources thereby pushing back their economic and infrastructure development.

It is also high time that the colonial powers return the looted treasures back to their former colonies. Preserving their colonial loot in their museums is in a way an admission of their past colonial crimes for which they need to return back the looted treasure.

Governments till date have often used the Official Secrets Act (OSA), 1923 and National Security Act (NSA), 1980 to push anything they view as uncomfortable or might cause social tensions, under the carpet. Then there have been contentious laws and prolonged legal battles that have only added more into vitiating the social atmosphere.

The excuse that opening up past history might reignite social tensions, is debatable argument. It has been 78 years since Independence in 1948. That is roughly 3.9 or close to 4 generations. Generations are one way to group age cohorts. A generation typically refers to groups of people born over a 15 to 20 year span.

Present generation and generations to come need to be made aware of their past history and their legacy. A disconnect with one’s past history does not augur well for the future as a society and as a nation. To think that the present generation might view history entirely differently in the present context, is debatable.

It also does not bode well to cast doubt on the present generation’s ability to take historical facts in their strides. There is a generational shift in every 15 to 20 years, four generations have passed since 1947, and another 22 years to go before we celebrate 100 years of our Independence in 2047.

US President Donald Trump has announced that he will declassify the Kennedy assassination files, 62 years after the assassination of former late US President John F Kennedy, that is 3 (3.1) generations later. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi led administration too has declassified some files relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose with not much of a controversy.

The Nuremberg Trials held between November 20, 1945 and October 1, 1946, by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) tried 22 of the most important surviving leaders of Nazi Germany in the political, military, and economic spheres, as well as six German organizations. It did bring some closure to the victims and their families who had suffered during World War II at the hands of Nazi Germany.

Similarly, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa in 1996 after the end of Apartheid. Authorised by Nelson Mandela and chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu the commission invited witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations to give statements about their experiences, and selected some for public hearings. Perpetrators of violence could also give testimony and request amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution.

As a nation we too have quite a few scares and wounds to heal. Be it the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre that took place on 13 April 1919. The Noakhali massacre of October-November 1946 and the Moplah/Malabar massacre or rebellion of 1921, to name a few.

We too need to offload the burden of history, just like the Nuremberg Trials or the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Often past history teaches one a lot in understanding the context, correcting the past mistakes, making course corrections and moving on. It is high time that the truth comes out, so that the old wounds heal and we as a nation move forwards towards lasting peace, prosperity and inclusive development.