Modern World History

I recently reread Norman Lowe's phenomenal book on History titled, Mastering Modern World History, as part of my preparations for upcoming exams. The first time I had read it was as a general reader who wished to know the events and timeline of progression of nations post-war and about independent colonies of the British Raj. This time when I read it as a student interpreting and correlating world events that led to wars, formation of UN, the Cold war era and subsequent disintegration of Soviet Union, it brought a methodical analysis to history as we should see and study it in current context.

After reading through school textbooks about the French and Russian Revolutions and their fight for securing and protecting the apex human values of liberty and equality, it became even more important to start reading about the history of humanity that also went through two very disturbing and violent world wars that destroyed nations and people. This book was last updated in 1997, hence there are so many major world events especially, the rise of terrorism and growing militant acquisition with hate crimes against minorities and refugees, that need to be understood in context with the history that precedes today's events. I often become surprised at the world events that have unfurled in the past two decades especially in the new millennium which was to be a promising haven of technology and modernity for people everywhere with equal opportunities for growth and progress.

It was always a big question asked by at least one person in each new class as we progressed through school and in college about the necessity of studying history- the past. For all the mistakes committed by people and representatives of nations for supremacy and global power, it is very relevant that history be analysed and checked in leeway of current global happenings. Since politics is a hot coal that is apparently the only united constitution of nations and their representative leaders, it becomes so much more important to keep a tab on the history and seek its relevance in the present. With the recent exit of Britain from the European Council signalling an end to a pact of more than a united 40 years of Globalization, the coming days will be difficult and must I say, this is the start of an economic crackdown on a global level. Perhaps, the capitalists and the economists could better help us understand why this revolt of the British working class against the hegemony of finance will affect the rising and established economies of the world with BREXIT.

As a democratic nation, our participation in World Economy as a developing nation has reached a new low what with the rise of saffron wing politics and growing divide between minorities with the Hindutva agenda placed on top of priority list by the government. Left wing and new Left ideologies across the world are finding themselves linked together over the deteriorating world economy and serious disruptions to world finance systems. The weight of contradictions for nations to sustain themselves economically as against national neo-liberalism over growing inequality in work forces, lack of opportunities and religious militancy is causing a furore over existence of big capitalist borders that are seeking to expand their territories. Humanity has suffered through two major world wars and countless small yet terrifying wars have destroyed nations since then. A unity of nations to help put an end to destruction agreed upon by World Leaders post World War II, seems to have reached its expiry date. It terrifies me when I read of this inequity in resources with agendas put across by world powers dictating smaller nations to sway to their command, In such a situation, a huge populous democracy and emerging market like India has to launch mechanisms to address and seek redressal to its age old grievances of poverty, economic inequality, religious discord and growing population that could put us out of league of nations without participatory opportunities from the global economic progress and development. We have jeopardised the balance of nations against political turmoil and economic meltdowns and after going through a global recession, let's hope to work out human problems in a humane way so that we don't end up in a failed gamble once again after the great depression of 1920.