HIS AND HER STORY

HIS AND HER STORY

A historical narrative should be a statement of actual fact without the abuse of amplification or omission of deeds. But it never is as history is chronicled after the victor's wishes and carries the slant of the victorious side. Human perspectives differ as well lending their characteristic imprint on the chronicled tale. Impartial impression is almost an oxymoron as even historians are humans and should they be witnesses to the historical happenings which they recount, they are apt to be biased towards one end or the other. A historical narration goes by events that are brought to the fore and the historian, if even free to record, invariably lends to such chronicling his personal interpretation which may be flawed or consciously or unconsciously prejudiced. Moreover, records of events are suppressed to suit the victor's tale and what comes on print is more often than not a gross misstatement of facts or falsification of actual events. History also deals with the analysis and interpretation of events where large discrepancies come in owing to party interest. Thus, in reading history it is binding on the truth-seeker to read multiple chronicles from adversarial angles to be able to arrive at a semblance of an understanding bordering on truth.

Written by Sugata Bose