India's Problem with Remembering Difficult Past

India's Amnesia with Difficult Past

India is categorized as a country with rich cultural heritage and past, but India also has memory vacuums in its past. India has a problem with remembering its difficult past: It either brushes it off, or slowly forgets it. India is generous about forgetting about the crimes of outsiders than its own people. Numerous terrorist attacks were perpetrated in India, but not even a single memorial marks the dead. Not only that terrorist events are forgotten, this is also true for major historical events such as the first war of independence of 1957. There is a memorial for the British dead in the war in India, but no such memorial for the dead soldiers of India, or its heroes of 1957. Nothing is known about the soldiers dead abroad while serving the British army, in China in the early 19th century, in Europe, and Middle East in the 20th century in the long drawn wars of the first world war. Of course nothing much is known in terms of memorials for soldiers dead in the wars with its neighbors in 1962 war with China or 1972 war with Pakistan.

India won its independence in 1947, but what about the 250,000 people, who died in the skirmishes that resulted during that year. No memorial. One or two films are made with mock characteristics rather than recreating a museum or memorial. India's invaders always inflicted innumerable losses to the life of civilians in India, almost creating a genocidal effect in India. However, all that India does is just forget about the atrocities, and move on, with the hope that such events won't repeat, which is always proven to be a mistake. They always repeat, India never remembers, and hence never adequately prepares, only to succumb to invaders easily.

India moves on with its insolent indifference into the twenty first century. Media discuss the 26/11 attacks, but no memorial for the victims. Everything is whitewashed and forgotten. India should make an effort to remember its past however sad or difficult it is so such events do not happen again.