An Indian holocaust museum?
Published by Yazad Jal October 21st, 2003 in IndiaAn interesting idea proposed by François Gautier. Despite Gautier’s obvious biases, a museum to depict the horrors of genocide will be a great help, in making history more “real” and perhaps also in a healing process.
I would like to add many holocaust-like events to the museum’s display–cases that Gautier conviniently ignores. The Gujarat riots, Bombay riots & bomb blasts in 1992-3 and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 come to mind immediately. (Maybe riots through time in India)
However, the horrors of partition would top the list. A museum dedicated to partition would be a great start.
Sidelight 1: A well-written mailing list rant on Gautier. The Mencken quote alone is worth the read.
Sidelight 2:The etymology of the word holocaust.
Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life, especially by fire.
If I look at the method used by the rioters last year in Gujarat (arson by gas cylinders), the word is so, so apt.
I am studying historic preservation so am obviously fascinated by museums and history. The first thing that struck me when I came to the US is how they have museums for every goddamn thing here, inspite of their relatively short history. There’s actually a Jello museum in NY and even a sanitary museum in Boston.
Here, like Europe, they exalt all things from the past, even the less savory past like slavery and the Civil War. I think we do need the same attitude in India and definitely a greater respect for our history. Unless it’s preserved in museums, the past is very easy to forget. And we don’t want to forget massacres and riots.
We might want to forget massacres and riots, because in a world where few forget and fewer forgive, these memories do not neccesseraliy evoke feelings of remorse as much, as of injury to one or the other communities pride.
Also maybe somethings need not be remembered as vividly as they are. Slavery and Pre-Civil Rights Discrimination are used as excuses to perpetuate some sort of positive discrimination. And the Holocaust has created such memories that any one who raises a voice against equally reprehensible actions by the state of Isreal in the West Bank is immediatly branded Anti-Semitic, a very stigmatic label to carry around in the liberal(sic.) west. Similarly the case for reservations in India is based on similar retrospection.
The idea of an Indian Holocaust Museum is a good one though many Indians or rather the narrow minority with passionately ill-conceived convictions may use it quite contrariwise.
Well, I understand what you’re saying Gautam but ppl who think that way will think that way no matter what. It’s the way the museum is presented is what is very important. It’s a very sensitive issue which needs to be dealt with with utmost caution but skirting around it will do no one any good.
incidentally I was designing a holocaust museum for Partition in the Chandigarh Assembly complex in the unbuilt Governor’s Palace Reuse as a part of a competition…alas the competition got scrapped…so much for my museum thoughts.