Some time ago, a police officer heading the department in one of the mountainous districts in Uttarakhand directed his subordinates to undertake eradication of cannabis plantations in the district as part of a campaign.
The order went to the Patwaris and police stations and from there to the Gram Pradhans. While recalling what had happened on the ground, an acquaintance from the region said that following the orders, a jeep of policemen reached his village.
They destroyed the ganja growing wild on the roadside and in a couple of fields visible from the road and got their photographs clicked with the ‘crop’ destroyed. After that, they requested the villagers to themselves destroy the plants standing in the fields and left. Firstly, one does not advocate the abuse of ganja or any other substance. However, the above mentioned instance only goes on to show what happens when one negates history and the important aspects of the current situation. In this case, one should understand that cannabis has been traditionally used for its fibres, medicinal, nutritional and recreational purposes for ages in this region.
Its seeds are sold in some shops and fairs held on the Parade Ground in Dehradun. Said to be higher in protein than soya-bean, it is used in various dishes and also to make a chutney considered to be one of the culinary specialties of the mountain culture.
Ages of cannabis use did not lead to an alarming situation of substance abuse as in the case of hard drugs like smack or alcohol and tobacco. At present it grows wild and is also cultivated in various parts of the state. Being illegal, it fuels a whole nexus of criminal elements and others who exploit the situation to make considerable profits. The State Government is encouraging production of some items from the plant’s fibres and other components with positive results so far. One could expect more in the future provided some major changes are made. However, the failed ganja eradication drive in a district was just an example as cannabis is not the subject of this column.
The attempt to eradicate cannabis in the region failed because history and important aspects of the current situation are being ignored. Similar is the case with bigger problems being faced in the nation. Negationism is a major cause for various problems fuelled by an attitude based on distorted history.
Here in Dehradun, the battle of Khalanga is one such example of this tendency. It was fought in 1814 between the Gorkhas who had occupied Garhwal for 12 years and the British colonial army. The Gorkhas lost but fought so bravely that the British built a memorial in their honour. All this is good and also celebrated every year. However, why does one ignore why the natives were happy with the outcome of this battle? Why does one ignore the factual reasons which had made the 12-year occupation very unpopular among the natives? It is not that difficult to read historical records written by both the British and others dating from the colonial to the post-independence era to learn about these reasons. The major problems faced by the natives during the 12 year occupation are also part of history though that is ignored.
Here it is important to state that the purpose of eliciting focus on this is not to incite dislike for any community because there is hardly any community or school of thought which doesn’t have some negative chapters in its past for which the current generation cannot be blamed. The Gorkhas are now an integral part of Uttarakhand and the nation.
On a larger scale, when one looks at the national scenario, there are aspects in our past which have either been ignored or distorted to present a ‘positive’ picture whereas in fact the actual picture was horrendous.
My younger colleagues opine that they are not bothered about history and all that. They state they are focused on the present and don’t care about what happened in the past. One agrees-let bygones be bygones, but is that the same as negating history? When a society ignores its history, it tends to formulate an artificial scenario of so called harmony which is fragile enough to be disturbed even by rumours.
It is better to acknowledge whatever bad was done by whichever community in the past along with the good done by them, as is the case in any mature society. While the good should elicit appreciation, the bad should not cause hate for the descendants.
Unless this is done, the veneer of peace will remain fragile without closure brought about by acknowledgement. It is important to understand here that a true follower of any religion and even an atheist will not have any problem with any person following a different faith.
However, negationism and protracted failure to acknowledge historical facts leaves us open to manipulation by politicians and others in different scenarios. We are probably not yet mature enough to acknowledge the past errors, learn from them and move forward. But the fact is ignorance fuels hatred and other negative tendencies while knowledge brings about peace and other positive results.