PERCEPTION OF HERITAGE SITES

A visit to a heritage site never fails to motivate a perception of the historical and geographical changes it must have undergone. The recent developments in history prove that this perception doesn’t originate in a vacuum and doesn’t exist in isolation. Among the many factors that influence the way we think about a monument, historians take the primary position, followed by the people in power who propel their ideas. It’s obvious to have trust issues with the latter, more so if you live under fascism. How do we trust a perception then?

Walter Benjamin offers some help here through his seminal essay ‘On the concept of history’. Written in the context of a criticism for the methods and ambitions of the Second International, the essay asserts the importance of seeing history through a dialectical lens which doesn’t distinguish between the “great and small”, ensuring “that nothing which has ever happened is to be given as lost to history”. There remains no “eternal” metaphysical concept of history which bears a sense of something that happened in a distant past, in an estranged time period which holds insignificant impact on the present.

The historical materialist ought to present the historical narrative in a manner which resists the concept of “history as the history of the victor”, where the victor signifies the ruling class. When we look at history with this perspective, it is easier to recognize who the historian has empathized with, as well as who has been left out. As Benjamin states, “There has never been a document of culture, which is not simultaneously one of barbarism”. A history of kings is entrenched in the history of their prisoners, slaves and peasantry; a history of the upper castes is never without the history of the exploitation of the lower castes; a history of capitalism can never be without the history of exploitation of labour.

For example, the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in USA is a rich tradition which is a reminder of their Irish heritage. However, it is also a reminder for another grave incident – The Irish Potato Famine of the mid 1800s, which was caused due to a potato blight and heightened by the British Whig’s approach of laissez-faire capitalism. More than a million people were affected by death and emigration. The population numbers haven’t been able to recover since. In April 2021, the population rose above 5 million for the first time since 1851. However, this tragedy benefited America, who required cheap labour for rapid industrialization to occur. This Irish immigrant population became a majority within a span of 50 years. The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day was bound to have a major cultural significance then.  

Figure 1: Ratio to all Population (Irish American), 1880

  Benjamin’s understanding, influenced by Hegel’s philosophy of history, implies a perception of history which is complete, connected and transitional. The ruling class of the current era also benefits from the empathy for the victors of the past, just as an heir would. The oppressor gets an opportunity to validate their empathy for their victorious ancestors, while ignoring the lineage of oppression. The oppressor can be audacious enough to even propose outlandish claims to rewrite history as we see under the current conditions in India. Thus, it is important for us to look at history from a non-conformist distanced perspective to observe the process of transmission that occurs throughout history, culminating in our perception of the present. It prevents a myopic view of the “present” system of oppression, which thrives on the notion of fate, guilt, and subservience. All of these benefit the heir apparent, be it colonialism, feudalism, capitalism or fascism.

D.D. Kosambi, the famous Indian polymath, in his essay ‘The Kanpur Road’, describes the chance meeting he had with a war veteran Sardar, Sardar Govind Singh, who had “campaigned in Abyssinia with Napier, entered Kabul and Kandahar with Roberts” and fought in every harsh climate that marks India’s borders. Despite the medals and land he received for his loyalty to the British, he could never forgive himself for killing his brother who was a rebel against the British during the Revolt of 1857. The Sardar was convinced that it could have never been otherwise because he had given his word to the British, and had eaten their salt. He considered it his duty as a Sikh to protect the outnumbered.

Kosambi likens this story of bravery to the fate of the resistance of King Pauravas against Alexander. After the conquest, Alexander is famously said to have left after making a loyal friend out of King Pauravas by returning his lands and expanding them. However, as Kosambi points out, Alexander’s soldiers were already mutinous due to the length of the campaign and the adverse conditions they fought in. He couldn’t have gone on further without suffering defeat. So, the gift he bestowed upon King Pauravas was in fact the Indian land which could never be garrisoned by his soldiers. Similarly, the salt that Govind Singh ate was in fact Indian salt which was only taxed by the British.  

     Figure 2: A Sikh soldier with medals and pharla, 1920s

To quote Kosambi, “My place was not with the heroes, but with the rabble, […] whose function in the epics was to be slaughtered by the heroes; whose role, according to the historians, was to provide a mere background for the deeds of great men. The heroes of a money-making society rose from the people, at the expense of the people; I could rise only with the common people”. (https://www.marxists.org/archive/kosambi/exasperating-essays/x01/1939-2.htm) When we visit a heritage site, this is the history we probably won’t find in the informative boards. If we refuse to empathize with the victor, we can see the latent histories of struggle and oppression. If we then look to bridge the connections to the present, the reason behind its invisibility will be apparent. The truth of its revolutionary potential will never seem distant.  

Bibliography

1. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/benjamin/1940/history.htm
2. https://www.marxists.org/archive/kosambi/exasperating-essays/x01/1939-2.htm 
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#/media/File:Population_(Irish_emigration).jpg
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Indian_Army#/media/File:Sikh_Soldier_with_Medals.jpg
5. http://fubini.swarthmore.edu/~ENVS2/sophie/essay_3.html
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhxw51cdHTE

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Hi, I’m SUCHISHRABA SARANGI …

Suchishraba is a linguist with an overlapping interest in cuisine, heritage and diversity. He aspires to work on the languages and their historical development in the subcontinental context. He loves exploring every nook and corner of the place he visits, in search of delicacies and stories.