RECONSIDERING REGIONAL HISTORY IN OUR SCHOOL SYLLABUS

In a recent conversation with some resource persons in Sikkim regarding the history of Sikkim, one thing that struck my mind was, why don’t we include the history of Sikkim in our Class VI, VII and VIII History syllabus? What I am saying (in addition to NCERT syllabus) is to include a small booklet on History of Sikkim.
My concern in this regard is that we must know the culture, history of our region, people and place. In today’s world, people everywhere define themselves through the places where they live or where they grew up. In my view school is the ideal place to teach the history and culture of a region. I am a true believer of education as a means to inculcate in the child his or her cultural values as well as the skill necessary to survive in today’s world.
We often talk about preservation of culture as our top priority, but never realize the importance of incorporating the study of cultural skills, folklore, and local history as part of the school’s curriculum.  I think these skills, myths, stories and history should be taught in schools. Perhaps a student should start learning traditional skills, myths, stories and legends in primary school and in high school the student would learn local, regional and national history.
I believe a school curriculum which incorporates traditional myths and legends, and local, regional and national history will strengthen our national as well as regional identities. I hope that through education we can teach our children to understand and appreciate the cultures in our region. I believe knowledge and understanding can break down cultural prejudices and ethnocentrism.
In this regard, I want healthy discussions and debates among the academicians as well as the think-tank of Sikkim to discuss into this matter and put forward this proposal in a more fruitful direction.
Binod Bhattarai, Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, Pondicherry University