In every story, the characters are either heroes or villains. And this also seems to be the case in how people and events are portrayed in history books.

Take for instance events such as the “War of Independence”. It is seen differently by three different countries, Pakistan, India and Britain. The historians of these three nations talk about it from their own points of view and depict themselves as the heroes in this conflict.

In class, whenever we discuss matters related to Pakistan, we see ourselves loathing other countries. Involved in the discussion are some students who form extreme opinions based on little evidence or background knowledge.

What if we work to formulate a type of material where we all accept the events of history without colouring it with our own biased narrative, where countries aren’t afraid or ashamed to defend a lost war?

Looking through the recent events, though I would not be calling them out by name, we can see that a country abusing another nation’s people doesn’t feel remorse. It’s because they think that they are doing the right thing.

Take another example, that of Kashmir. Everyone is looking at the scene differently. Here we look at what is happening there as genocide and suppression. The people there feel hopeless and crushed under a regime they reject. Then those who are exercising force over them feel they have the right to control them through any means and they take the Kashmiris’ show of self-defence and defiance as threat and rebellion. With an abundance of points of view, an outsider who has nothing to do with what is happening there would not know which side to be on or which one to believe.

Each nation presents historical events to children, through their school history books, with some truth distorted by their own point of view. Many events are even completely erased from history if they show their nation or leaders in the wrong, or highlight a mistake made in the past. It should be realised that by doing so, facts and truth get distorted and false narratives become widespread. This is a disservice to the future generations.

There’s no creative way to look at patriotism or nationalism. We need to be brave and honest enough to see and face things the way they are. Whether it is a government or an individual, all try to hide their failures and escape from admitting their mistakes.

It is high time that we stop painting history in our books in colours of our own choice. Real facts cannot remain hidden for long, the truth always comes out. And on growing up, children learn and form better and more realistic opinions. So when writing history, let us make sure that everyone and every event is represented factually.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 27th, 2022