Geography may remain same history need not

“I am neither Athenian nor greek ,but a citizen of the world”

             Socrates had said these powerful words at a time when all just mattered was the nationality limited by a geographical region.but his account as a citizen of world shows the acceptance of a greater truth and that is recognition of change going on in world as a whole whose history was a continuous change and whose future will be a continuum of change.but its quite imperative to know that in this world,where the mere change in air or climate may forge fetters among people to ascribe for their separate identity ,is there any chance to mould the history towards thepath of welfare and progress of even the last man standing in the end?

                                                                  Geography is all about the physical features the earth has on itself ,whether be the mountain reaching the sky or the trenches touching depth of oceans.change in geography is always there albeit time taken for change varies from a wink of an eye to thousands of centuries.on the other hand,history is the study of condition of all those who lived and wandered on mother earth before the question of history came up to the present generation.as it relates to people,who are bound to change their historical,social,political and other prerogatives with time ,so is the history.

                       The issue of dynamicicty of history alongside the reality of geography comes to the fore when the world events of last few decades are recalled.indian subcontinent can be an apt example of that where a single identity present from some 50-60 million years ago ,which was called india by Greeks ,Hindustan by Persians and bharat by its natives ,stretched from sulaiman to Chittagong ,got divided into three different historical units.history in this region had changed for worse,from culture of brotherhood to bloodshed ,from love to hatredness nd result was partition and four wars.isnt it the embodiment of fact that though geograph may remain the same,but need not the history.

                                                                                                                                       It needs to be seen as to by which factors,its possible that history changes inoverall context of geography with so much quantum that it should be called a change.it should be examined as to what can be done so that as the change happens because its all about human tendency to have change,that change is in the overall interest and welfare of all.

                         First and foremost factor that brings about historical changes with alongside the tangible effects on geography is the environment.its the dynamic relationship of air,water and soil of region which can change the course of history in both ways.indus valley civilization can be a case in point.many researchers ascribe to this theory that this bronze age civilization got vanished because of change in course of rivers specially Indus and saraswati river.its geographical fallout was the desertification that results in northwest part of Indian subcontinentand its historical effect was that the statit Indus community got replaced by horse riders Aryans who can migrate from the area,if such event recurs.the effect of environment is exerting itself on both geographical and historical facets toda more than ever as the population as well as its density is rising

                     Another important factor that puts a pressure on historical facts to get written again though without the comparable effects on geography is the politics played out in the region of consideration.whether it be the civil war of usa or the disintegration of usssror the segregation of arab world after treaty of severes in 1920 or the rise of dreadful Islamic state militia in today’s times ,it’s the historical change backed by political needs of the hour with little or no effects on geography.this political push may be by the people as they say ‘power withdrawl by people’ or by the leaders who say ‘a state won by one sitting in the office with help of a typewriter’.but the former is bound to change till the people not get what is due to them while latter is bound to change till one get what is promised to them.

           Another forceful push to dyynami of history bound  by static geography comes from social views and their implications.when these views start echoing or reflecting ,they start building the framework of a major change.civil disobedience movements of india or the mau mau rebellion of Kenya or the guerillas fighting of latin Americas or the birth of state as well as nation of Israel is all embodiment of it.when the society gets warm upto the atrocities or the aspirations of some among it,then it makes the stage for an overhaul of all that in favour of peace as said by mahatma gandhiji aptly-“in all through history ,the ways of love and truth have always won.therer has benn tyrants and murderers and for a time,they may seem invincible but in the end they always fall.think of it always”

                                                                                                                                         Then comes the economy whih has its repercussions felt not only on the lives of people but the geography also though how much small it is.its a continuous inherent factor in the life of all those facets of humanity from the age of hunter-gatherers to the industrial and subsequently service revolutions of the present.nothing can be more apt description of this factor than colonialism witnessed in world in past centuries.on the one hand where colonialism changed the history by making the people westernized instead of modernized ,on the other side ,it brought about substantive changes in geography by commercializing the use of forests or by pushing up the growth of shabby overstretched cities .though its always sure that its double edged sword,but walking on it was always the prerogative of man.

                                                                                                                                      Fifth factor which had brought about substantial historical changes within the bound of geography is the direction in which foreign affairs were dealt with time to time.a good example of it can be taken from the state of Liberia in Africa.this state itself is born out of the policy of slavery followed in late medieval centuries.not only this,the population in this part of the world is wholly composed of the descends of former slaves of north America.birth of hongkong under the ‘one nation,two systems’ policy of china is another substantial factor in the effect of foreign affairs on the historical changes of a region.

                                                                                                                                                   Another thrust to historical change comes from geographical factors itself.its the geography only due to which the plains have always been the cradles of civilizations while the mountains and other inhabitable areasgeet only thin slice of human habitat.it can be gauged from simple fact that 66% of world population resides in between two tropical lines.

                                        The change has neither been good or bad only.it becomes bad at a time when a single drop of blood get shed not in the process of occurrence of change but in the outcome.historical changes in the confinement of geography were good when they improved the condition of women or the so called invincible like blaks of America or untouchables of india.they were good when there aim was to make society think on reason or to make nation look to democracy and equality to solve the plethora of problems facing it.but they were bad when they were aspired for creating space for their own on the basis needs of others.

                                             But as the golden rule says that if there is problem,there must be a solution.so if the change happens in history with the geography may or may not accounting for it,there needs to be inherent qualities and principles so that change is for the best interests of one and all.

                                                                                                                                 First such principle should be the ‘culture of animism’ which means that all humans are partners in peace and progress.this culture has its roots in contentment which was aptly summarized by an ancient greek philosopher in following words “contentment is natural wealth while richness is artificial poverty”.

                                                                                                                           But the question remains as to how to ingrain in the minds of the coming generation the ssignificance of this culture?certainly its possible only through the agency of education which minimizes prejudices and stereotyping and such an education should start from home itself with the mother as the parent epitome in this endeavour.this ssingle thing will going to have catalytic effect in the moulding of change in positive direction.

                                                                                                                                  Second solution for managing all the way rapidly happening historical change ,is the presence of an international body,free of bias and capable of taking action at time of need.there were two organizations witnessed by world in this sphere.first was the league of nations whose unfrucatbility was also a reason for second world war.second is united nations which ahd done a commendable work right from its setting but its lack of change along with realities make it unuseful today more than ever.it has started not representing the reality of modern world and if this trend continues,then it will also start to decay like its predecessor.

                                                                                   Third solution in the context of historical change amid the presence of a static geographycomes from preparing the communities for unthoughtful changes that may come up in coming times.these include man disasters whether be biological or environmental and other rising challenges like terrorism ,nuclear proliferation etc.this needs the sense of being human compared  to the sense belongingness to a particular region.only then it can work and help one and all in facing some drastic challenges.this is possible by letting people to learn the practical aspects of life and civil society can play an important role in this regard.

                                                                                                   Having said this,its quite clear that geography though remains same or not,but history need not and cant be same and that’s due to the interplay of environmental,political,social,economical and geographical factors.the change a history get in its reflection is in both ways but its through the use of culture of brotherhood,a peaceful international body and by preparing towards unwanted change,a human being can mould the path of history to intended purpose of welfare of all.

                                             Though geographical factors were remaining same or not and the history was always in the flux of change,yet it’s the mankind that has to bear the brunt or heap the accolades for all these changes.it teaches us the significance of very fact that human kind is like a thread joining all the pearls of this great interplay of factors affecting it.this was even recognized from age long as an ancient saying is “history is the best teacher”.

                                                               Its always hopeful that though the history change and coming times will write a new history of the present,though the geography change or not,with the new physical features cropping up and old demolished ,yet the mankind in the garb of world citizenry will make its way for an even better and wishful future whose index will be the smile on the face of a girl coming out of a school located in the most underdeveloped region,with a smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.