THE ARMED REVOLUTION FOR FREEDOM ... 5
My hope lies with the youth of our country. They will translate the ideals of our revolutionaries into constructive action of nation-building. Those who are aged and cynical through life's bitter experiences cannot be of much help to this mighty task of national reconstruction. An active optimism is the call of the hour and not a passive pessimism. Nothing worthwhile can be achieved by carping criticism of every politician that has been at the helm of affairs at the Centre or at the States. Mere negativism achieves nothing. What is wanted is a leonine faith in the nation's potential and prospects, immense idealism coupled with immense practicality, as Swamiji was wont to calling it, to translate into deeds the dreams of the revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives for freedom. For this we need to educate ourselves in the history of our freedom movement for which there is already a plethora of information available and more are being unearthed by the day as ardent men and women dig deep into forgotten files and new books are published by the day to give expression to the latest findings. We are largely ignorant of our history, not because the government has hidden material form us but because we are academically too poor to care to know about what has been our past. This dereliction of duty in blissfully remaining ignorant of our historical past must be done away with even before we venture to voice our misgivings at any government of the past for depriving us of information. Whether any such suppression has been the cause of our massive ignorance may be ascertained only once we have equipped ourselves with a modicum of knowledge about the freedom movement and not before.
History is a subject not many of my students or my schoolmates have had a liking for. This has been my experience. In more general terms, not many like to pursue academic studies beyond what they are compelled in childhood or youth to do for future livelihood. As such most prefer to go through life's motions basing their judgements on pertinent historical issues from partial information gleaned from newspaper articles and, nowadays, online essays and write-ups that are more often than not erroneous and one-sided accounts of a truth that needs to be studied comprehensively. Few go to authentic sources to gather information and most are content with collecting data from diverse dubious sources, and some are plain pretenders to knowledge. These latter ones are the most vociferous among the critics of the government and these remain incorrigible on account of their monumental ignorance about the facts of the historical episodes. Consequently, their analytical powers are poorly developed and they go about spreading the ruckus online as erstwhile compatriots of theirs raised storms over teacups. Herein we have to work to mend matters and bring the youth to a broader avenue of light and learning.
Written by
Sugata Bose
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