www.civilsocietyindia.com,www.civilsocietyonline.com

Manisha Sobhrajani
London

SURPRISINGLY, the school history curriculum in Britain for 11-14 year olds does not give much weightage to Britain’s imperial conquests in the 18th and 19th century. It is not compulsory to teach the Empire’s history! The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) of Britain assesses the school syllabus every few years, and it was only in November 2006 that they realised that the Empire’s history has been ignored in British schools for decades. British education watchdog Ofsted found that schools in England spent insufficient time teaching the Empire. This was picked by Eastern Eye, the largest selling weekly Asian newspaper produced in London, which also claims to be “the voice of British Asians”. The British government is currently reviewing the curriculum. If QCA’s recommendations are accepted, then the colonisation, apartheid and slavery caused by the British Empire, the impact its policies had on colonies like India and Africa and the independence movement in those countries may form an important part of secondary school syllabus.

_____________________ Eastern Eye has been supporting the QCA in putting pressure on the British government to review the school history curriculum. ________________________________________

The syllabus is likely to include a study on the Partition of India, the creation of Bangladesh and a study on Mahatma Gandhi. Eastern Eye has been supporting the QCA in putting pressure on the British government to review the school history curriculum. The newspaper has been running an active campaign, getting a host of British politicians and British Asians to support the QCA. British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave his support and spoke in favour of including a study of the British Empire in secondary schools a month after he condemned Britain’s role in slave trade as “one of the most inhuman enterprises in history”. A Downing Street spokesman told the newspaper that it was “important young people learn about the history of the Empire and the development of the Commonwealth, and it has a place in the history curriculum.” The general perception of British Asians is that if one were to show photographs of Nehru and Jinnah to young Britons, they would not be able to recognise them. Eastern Eye interviewed 50 prominent British Asians about how they felt about the issue. Among those who want British children to be more aware of their country’s past are actress Meera Syal, businessman Sir Gulam Noon, British peer Lord Nazir Ahmed, Sadiq Khan MP, radio presenter Nihal Arthanyake, singer Aki Nawaz, boxer Akaash Bhatia and many more.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, author and newspaper columnist, comments: “To teach just a glorified version of the Empire would be a crime against knowledge. To let black and Asian colludes off the hook would be equally unacceptable. But as we see in William Dalrymple’s book The Last Mughal, history, if truthfully told, can change how we see the past and imagine the future.” Jerome Freeman, programme manager for history in the curriculum division at the QCA holds the key to most of the changes in the history syllabus. He said: “It was always meant to be taught but our research proved that it wasn’t. As a student growing up in 20th century Britain, I never learnt absolutely anything about the Empire. We knew about the Commonwealth, but that was it. As a teacher, I tried to rectify that for my students. But, because it was never seen as a requirement, teachers have found it easier to ignore it completely.” He feels that in a lot of cases, it may have to do with the sensitive nature of the subject or in some cases it may be due to lack of resources. Eastern Eye editor Hamant Verma said, “They have avoided the subject for so long. Recently, Britain celebrated the bi-centenary of the abolition of slavery, but it doesn’t want its children to know about its actual history. It is the ‘white man’s guilt conscience’.” He further added that the school syllabus concentrates on Nazi Germany, Russian history and the French Revolution, but not the struggle for independence in British colonies. “Racism in Britain fuels from ignorance. It is a joke that the British Empire is not taught in schools because it has played such a significant role in modern history. The Empire has been taught in Indian schools for years. Our newspaper is advocating the cause for British history to be taught in an objective manner, highlighting the accurate acts and truths, and not just glorifying Britain,” Verma added. In 2004, Ofsted warned that schools must raise awareness levels amongst children about the Empire’s ‘controversial history’. The organisation said “the British Empire is given as an example of a significant subject that currently receives insufficient time in many schools”. The Eastern Eye editor believes that racism in the West is a direct consequence of the Empire. The idea that Asian people are inferior is rooted in the ‘white master’ and ‘brown servant’ concept of the Empire. Perhaps white Britons would act a little more humble if they were aware of the history of the Empire. They would wonder a little less about the huge Asian and African population living in their country!