Is Jeremy Corbyn right-is it time we deal truthfully with the violent past of colonialism?

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn plans to create the Emancipation Educational Trust, aimed to teach English students the true history of Britain’s colonial past, including slavery and colonialism. Some feel that colonialism eradicated arcane, punitive and undemocratic cultural norms, while others maintain that it is steeped in ugliness and violence — a violence that is inconvenient for some to discuss, debate and reckon with.

Does the current history curriculum-in its present form-really reflect the role of the British colonialist project, especially its violence and racism? It’s certainly steeped in a white-centric version of British history and reticent to speak about its often less than stellar record of slavery, brutality, collective punishment and outright racism.

But instead of treating the debate as being about putting all the cards on the table to mete out historical justice, shouldn’t it really be more about reflecting a portrayal of history that speaks to today’s Britain-one that has many students from ethnic minority backgrounds who will be taught a history that they do not see themselves reflected in?

When teaching history and the more violent aspects of its indicia, curriculums are loath to talk about the ugly aspects. We learned about Stalin, Hitler, genocide in Europe and gulags-but the colonial projects and its associated genocide glean a more relatively generous form of thrift.

State-induced famines, autocratic regimes perpetrated by the British state throughout most the planet, these aspects are complex and nuanced — but they happened under the dragnet of colonialism, should they not be critiqued and discussed, or at the very least spoken about frankly in our text books and lessons?

I am the writer of a forthcoming book on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during the era of the British Raj and while it has been given space and time in curriculums (nowadays less so), how many of our school children and even those under the age of 30 are aware that next April 2019 marks the centenary of an event that transformed the Indian nationalist movement?

Germany, for example, has taken on the task of dealing with its violent past with the kind of enthusiasm and importance that Britain has not. There is a reality around colonialism that complements its positives-the violence and exploitation for one-but there is little discussion around its legacy-a legacy that impacts all ethnic minorities today living in Britain (and this is not isolated to persons of colour by any means, lest we forget the experiences of the Welsh, Scots and Irish).

Instead curriculums reflect the civilizing role of the British colonial project and how we should pine for its values. There is a negotiation to be had with the more difficult aspects of our historical past and legacies and we are uncomfortable about having it. Should, for instance, history lessons now include a field trip to Liverpool so that students can visit the Slave Museum?

Why is it vital? For example, I was always very confident that I knew black history, but didn’t fully appreciate the history of Liverpool and the contribution from black African and the Caribbean people who, albeit as part of the slave trade, settled in Liverpool from as early as the 1700s, for instance.
So, now it’s particularly interest within a post-Brexit world to talk about how Britain is keen to embrace ‘long-standing’ and ‘friendly’ relationships with India, China etc but the story behind that relationship is rarely discussed and how those relationships were forged through painful periods of independence.

How can we teach future generations about history outside of political and contextual legacy?

Is that convenient ignorance or colonial guilt-whatever you think, Jeremy Corbyn is the only spokesperson of seniority in Britain willing to talk about it.

Saurav Dutt is an author and political columnist. He is releasing a commemorative book on the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in India to be released in time for the centenary of the atrocity in April 2019.