India Quiz - Lessons in Learning History

By RAVICHANDRAN D.J PAUL KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- The recent quiz programme on 'Indian Freedom Movement between 1857 and 1947' here to commemorate the Indian Independence Day celebration on Aug 15, proved that history could be a fascinating subject even for the uninitiated. Though the quiz organised by the Indian High Commission was meant only for the Indian nationals here, Malaysians who will be celebrating their National Day too on Aug 31 can take a leaf from the event impressively presented by quiz master Phanindra Ivatury in learning history. Over the years, there has been serious concerns that young Malaysians, particularly the tech savvy Gen Y, lacked awareness about their national history but the problem is the same elsewhere including in India as pointed out by Phanindra. The auditor with the Indian mission here related to Bernama how a young girl mistook a monochrome picture of Kamala Nehru, the wife of Congress leader and freedom fighter Jawaharlal Nehru, for matinee idol Tabu in a biopic role. The same ignorance was seen when it came to Mangal Panday, a soldier known for his role in the 1857 Indian Mutiny who was oblivious to most people until a film on him with Aamir Khan playing his character was released in 2005. THE MALAYSIAN AMNESIA ON HISTORY Nevertheless, a general observation during the quiz indicated that Indian nationals were quite knowledgeable about their country's independence struggle history, which covered a much longer period compared to Malaysia's independence history, and involved hundreds, if not thousands, of personalities - freedom fighters, spiritual leaders, philosophers, poets - across the sub-continent. The quiz, won by G. Vivekanand of Hyderabad and B. Sagar of Pune, both employees of Tech Mahendra in Cyber Jaya, was a lively and spirited affair with both the participants and audience, including the children, competing to answer questions. But the occasion left one thinking if Malaysians have the same level of enthusiasm and knowledge about their country's rich independence history? History seems to be a passive subject in schools, taught by teachers in a dull manner. The national days, more often than not, are celebrated symbolically - flying of flags, parades etc, instead of creating awareness about the country's past that can also teach us a lot about our future. It was all the more appropriate that Prime Minister Najib Razak, while launching the 2013 National Level Fly the Jalur Gemilang programme at Dataran Zero in Sungai Petani, struck the right chord by saying celebrations should go beyond mere symbolism. Many Malaysians seem to suffer from amnesia when it comes to the country's history. Thus, we not only have people who do not know history or know it in bits and pieces, but also those who create history from their own perspective. Some cannot even differentiate the father of independence Tunku Abdul Rahman from Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the first king, and the same goes about the difference in Malaysia day and independence day celebrations. Recent cases of people staking claim to various thrones of the Malay sultanate, with the latest one being a ninja garbed group claiming to have originated from Langkasuka Nusantara East Empire, are classic examples of such ignorance about history. QUIZ AN INTERESTING WAY TO LEARN HISTORY To make the Malaysian history interesting for the younger generation, born much later, is a challenge by itself. There have to be more compelling ways to present the historical facts beyond mere memorising the names and events from history text books. This is where the Indian quiz serves as a good example. Quiz master Phanindra not only kept the audience and participants engaged but also provided interesting narratives behind the answers, helping one to understand better about the personalities and events. A good example was the question on who coined the phrase "India for Indians"? One may take for granted that these must probably be the words of a well known freedom fighter yet, in reality, these were uttered by the great Hindu reformer and thinker Swami Dayananda Saraswathi and even predated the independence period. History is replete with names of people and events, therefore many key players are forgotten and this is where interesting narratives play an important role in helping people to recall names and events in history. An interesting anecdote provided by Phanindra on Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, a freedom fighter and the doctor who attended to Mahatma Gandhi during the latter's incarceration, helped to pique the interest about the doctor. Panindra narrated that Gandhi had refused to take the medicine prescribed by Dr. Roy as it was not from India and that his fellow 400 million Indians could not afford that medicine. Dr. Roy replied to Gandhi that treating him is like treating the four hundred million people in his country, a pithy and meaningful comment that made India's father of Independence relent and take medicine. Thus, the Malaysian history needs to be presented in a more interesting manner instead of being reduced to a static subject that fails to meet the aspirations of a dynamic audience. And creative approaches like this quiz should be employed to enhance the Malaysians’ knowledge in history. -- BERNAMA