What to Read in The Hindu Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1: History as battlefield — the perils of reversing the past

Context

What is dangerous is changing history to fit nationalism, identity politics, or territorial disputes.

Introduction

In March 2025, there was a push to revise textbooks by removing or criticizing figures like Babur and Aurangzeb, while praising certain native rulers. This was followed by growing public anger calling for the renaming or even destructionof Mughal tombs. Viral campaigns encouraged damaging historical monuments, driven by a view that paints India’s past in black and white. Supporters argue these actions correct colonial or biased views, but rewriting history in such a selective way often causes division, not clarity. When history is used to support ideologies instead of promoting reflection, it can tear society apart and create hatred instead of understanding.

• History as a Discipline: Requires careful and nuanced understanding of the past.
• Purpose of History: Study of causes, consequences, and context, not just recollection of events.
• Weaponization of History: Revisionism used to restore lost glory or correct wrongs becomes a tool for division.
• Risks of Revisionism: Leads to conflicts, wars, and prolonged suffering globally.
• Remembering History: Historical wrongs must be remembered, but not as mandates to reclaim past statuses or boundaries.
• Consequences of Reliving History: Chaos arises not from forgetting history, but from attempting to relive or reverse it.

 

Understanding Revisionist History vs. Historical Reinterpretation

• Historical Reinterpretation
  1. A legitimate academic process.
  2. Involves changing our understanding of the past using new evidence or different viewpoints.
• Revisionist History
  1. Often linked to political purposes.
  2. Reinterprets history to support current political goals, often related to nationalism, identity politics, or territorial disputes.
  3. Aimed at justifying present-day agendas, rather than accurately understanding the past.

 

Examples of Revisionist History

Event	Description	Outcome
The Crusades (1096–1099)	Fought to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control, driven by Christian belief in the sacredness of Jerusalem.	Led to centuries of violence, occupation, and retaliation, deepening divisions without bringing peace.
European Wars of Religion (16th–17th century)	Sparked by the Protestant Reformation challenging Catholic rule, leading to violent efforts to restore religious dominance.	Millions died, economies collapsed, and societies were destroyed. Religious and political grievances were used to justify conflict, rather than moving towards peace.

 

• Recognizing Historical Wrongs:
  1. It is important to acknowledge past mistakes, but using them to justify violence or reclaim lost territories only creates more conflict.
• Risks of Using History for Political Goals:
  1. When history is used to fuel political conflicts, it prevents progress and keeps societies trapped in a cycle of revenge and division.

 

Twentieth century examples

1. Nazi Germany
2. Adolf Hitler's Ideology: Focused on reclaiming the glory of the German Reich.
   1. Wanted to correct the "humiliation" caused by the Treaty of Versailles.
   2. Used a manipulated version of history to support the Aryan past, the "stab in the back" theory, and the need for Lebensraum (living space).
3. Outcome: The effort to reverse the First World War results led to World War II and the Holocaust.
   1. This tragic chapter showed the dangers of trying to reshape history through conquest and genocide.

 

2. Partition of India (1947)
3. Competing Narratives: Hindu and Muslim nationalists used historical grievances to justify their cause.
   1. The struggle was rooted in selective versions of history from past rulers.
4. Outcome: What should have been a peaceful division into two sovereign states resulted in one of the worst communal violence in history.
   1. Over 1 million deaths and more than 10 million displaced people.

 

3. Israel-Palestine Conflict
4. Historical Grievances: Both Israelis and Palestinians claim historical rights, often based on deeply emotional and irreconcilableversions of the past.
5. Outcome: Efforts to reverse history, through territorial claims, settlements, or denying nationhood, have kept the conflict going.
   1. The conflict cannot be solved by only appealing to the past.

 

4. Russia's Invasion of Ukraine (2022)
5. Historical Justification: Russia justified the invasion with claims about the historical unity of Russian and Ukrainian people and the invalidity of Ukraine's post-Soviet independence.
6. Outcome: Attempting to reverse post-Cold War borders has caused massive human suffering, economic crises, and instability across the region.

 

Examples of Revisionism in History

Event	Description	Outcome
Nazi Germany (WWII)	Hitler's ideology to reclaim German glory and correct Versailles' humiliation.	Led to WWII, Holocaust, and massive destruction.
Partition of India (1947)	Hindu and Muslim nationalists used historical grievances to justify their positions.	Resulted in communal violence, 1 million deaths, and 10 million displaced.
Israel-Palestine Conflict	Both sides claim historical rights based on conflicting narratives.	Continued conflict, unresolved by historical appeals.
Russia's Invasion of Ukraine	Russia used revisionist arguments about historical unity to justify invasion.	Massive suffering, economic crises, and regional instability.

 

Conclusion: History as a teacher

History should serve as a guide, not a blueprint. We study past mistakes to make sure they don't happen again, not to seek revenge by repeating the same conflicts. Focusing too much on returning to a so-called golden past stops people and nations from seeing the opportunities of today and the potential of tomorrow. As philosopher George Santayana wisely said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” However, it is just as harmful to remember the past only to relive it, trying to fix things by undoing what happened instead of finding peace. The best way to honor history is not by changing it, but by learning from it with humility.

 

Editorial 2: What a post-Assad Syria means for China

Context

The rebuilding of Syria’s army and government has created new security worries for China.

 

Introduction

Over the past two years, China has mostly supported Arab views on the Gaza issue. This included hosting Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Beijing to help with peace talks. As a result, China’s image in the Arab world has improved, and recent surveys show it is now more popular than the United States in the region. However, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria has created a serious security concern for China. Under the new leadership of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Uyghur militants are gaining more political ground in Damascus, which worries China.

 

Key Developments in Syria Involving Uyghur Militants

• Uyghur militants from the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), also called the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), have taken important roles in Syria’s new army.
• Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known earlier as Abu Mohammed al Jolani, became Syria’s leader without much resistance when his group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered Damascus.

 

Historical Background: Uyghurs in Syrian Jihadist Landscape

Period	Key Developments
2011 onwards	Uyghur militants became part of ISIS networks.
	They were featured in videos and propaganda showing their fights against Assad.
	Messages were translated into the Uyghur language to spread their ideology.
2017	ISIS released a video of Uyghur fighters training and threatening China.
Recent years	China hasn't been a major focus of ISIS propaganda as US-China rivalry took focus.

 

Situation in 2025

1. Abdulaziz Dawood Khodaberdi, also known as Zahid, is a known Uyghur commander and former ETIM leader, now appointed to a high-ranking post.

 

China’s Security Concerns in Syria

 

ETIM and U.S.–China Dynamics

Year	Event
2002	U.S. listed ETIM (East Turkistan Islamic Movement) as a terrorist group.
2020	U.S. removed ETIM from its list, saying there was no solid evidence of its activity.
	U.S. also claimed China used ETIM as an excuse to crack down on Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

 

Impact of U.S.–China Rivalry

 

China's Approach vs. Syria's Approach

Country	China’s Expectation	Reality
Afghanistan	China made ETIM a top issue in talks with the Taliban-led government.	Taliban moved Uyghur fighters away from the China-Afghanistan border.
Syria	China expected similar cooperation from Syria’s new regime.	Instead, Syria gave Uyghur fighters official ranks in the military.

 

The western game plan

• The Chinese government has brought up this issue at the United Nations, as both Western and regional powers are quickly trying to build ties with Al Sharaa.
• The West is focusing on two main goals:

 

Conclusion

The challenge for China's diplomacy continues in this region. One of the key players still actively involved in Syria is Israel. However, China and Israel have disagreed over China's position on Gaza and Palestine. On the Arab side, countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — who earlier ignored China's actions in Xinjiang — have now accepted al Sharaa. This limits China's choices and forces it to rethink its strategy going forward.