19th October 2019 – The Hindu Editorials Notes- Mains Sure shot 

No. 1.

GS-1 Mains

Question – Explain what is ‘history’, and why the syllabus of history is always in debate.(200 words)

Context – The speech of Mr. Amit Shah in Banaras Hindu University  about rewriting history.

General conception:

• There are some terms which all of us hear and use in our everyday life but it is difficult for us to define them at times.
• One such term is ‘history’. Most of us see history as a dry narration of the events of the ‘past’ but it is more than just that.

So, what is history?

• Majority of the people often believe that history is the dry narration of the events of the past. So history and the past are seen to be the same thing. But this is not the case. The past refers to an earlier time, the people and societies who inhabited it and the events that took place there. But History is our attempts to investigate, study and explain the past.
• This is a subtle difference but an important one. What happened in the past is fixed in time and cannot be changed. while History, in contrast, changes regularly. The past is a factual certainty while history is an ongoing conversation about the past and its meaning.

Why understanding this is important?

• When we understand clearly that the past and history is not the same and that though past cant be changed, history changes regularly, we will be able to understand why the syllabus of history is of such relevance in politics and governance.
• The frequent tussle, debate and questioning of what is taught to the students in history books is a part and parcel of this because is such a discipline can that influence the minds of generations in a particular direction.

Way forward/ conclusion:

• So special care should be taken before amending or enforcing a new perspective of history because this can have both positive and negative consequences for the country.
• Anything that comes out as ‘facts’ about the past should be through rigorous methodology that bases itself on social science approaches rather than preconceived notions.

No. 2.

Note 1 : Some aspects of the role of the judiciary has been covered in detail in the article of 12th September. Refer to that as well.

Note 2 : There is another article title ‘Unresolved questions in a sordid episode’. This article doesn’t have much content. But these are some of the important points:

• In the recent case where CJI is charged for sexual harassment by one of her employee.
• She has been victimized in different manner by the office bearers as what the investigation found.
• She and her family members are suspended and a false case was also framed against her.
• Suspension has been revoked and they were reinstated back into the service.
• Recently, the CJI was exonerated of charge of sexual harassment, it depicts that there is no remedy yet for the complainant’s victimization.

Way forward:

• The committee proceedings have not been made public, their reasoning and decision remains a mystery.
• The case needs to be solved at the earliest to bring justice on the floor.
• Principles of justice is to be followed which says that everyone is to be treated equally before judiciary whether if it is a top official of the judiciary itself.
• Only a thorough investigation will bring out the truth.