Anwar calls for deeper appreciation of Asian history, free from colonial narratives

The Star

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged a deeper understanding of Asian history beyond colonial narratives, citing Tipu Sultan of Mysore as a symbol of courage, learning, and tolerance.  At the launch of the More Than A Day As A Tiger exhibition on Tuesday (Aug 5), Anwar said Malaysian history, like many others, is often told through a British colonial lens, overshadowing figures like Tipu Sultan and his father, Haider Ali.  He said the exhibition would help Malaysians better appreciate their resistance against the British East India Company.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/55e3js8n  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I was recounting my personal experience with the history of Tipu Sultan.

00:13I don't claim to have mastery of the subject, but certainly as a student of history,

00:19I was, of course, enchanted by the great statesman, anti-colonial fighter, Tipu Sultan.

00:31And when I was here, many years, long before I assumed office, I was with Tansi Sayyid Mokhtar,

00:40and then I was attracted to this piece on Tipu Sultan.

00:45I said, Sayyid, this is a great guy. This is something not known outside India.

00:52Very little is known. But I think it is a remarkable feat.

00:59A strong leader of the Mysore Sultanate led a very simple life.

01:09You visit his palace, for example, is probably one of the most or the smallest palace I have seen in my life.

01:18In fact, I was a bit curious to know whether it is actually his palace.

01:23But that simplicity helps us to understand the man who was leading a nation who wouldn't tolerate a colonial rule,

01:34who had the strength in indefatigable fighter for freedom.

01:40And a learned sultan, I can see from his collection of books,

01:50and therefore, one of the few understood the need to have mastery of technology

02:00in order to be able to fight the colonial rule.

02:04That's why you see his cannons and his guns are some remarkable feat that shocked the colonial rulers in the first wars.

02:13Now, so what relevance has it to be here in Malaysia?

02:19I think we are fortunate. So thank you very much, Mohamed.

02:23It is not just an ordinary exhibition,

02:25but to showcase the history of India and the Muslim world

02:33and the history of the anti-colonial struggle against the colonial rule.

02:40In this particular case, the British rule.

02:43His diplomatic skills with the views,

02:49sultanates, Muslims, and Hindus in India

02:52and his venture into the international diplomacy,

02:58particularly in persuading the French forces to support his struggle against the British.

03:06Now, Malaysia never knew much about Tipu Sultan or his father, Ahid Ali.

03:12But hopefully this will change

03:15now that the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia is mounting

03:19the most comprehensive exhibition ever held anywhere

03:25as a tribute to the hero and his father.

03:30So thank you again.

03:35You know, history is not necessarily very kind.

03:38In the last session we had here,

03:39I was talking about the reconstruction of Malaysian history.

03:42how one of our scholars, Hussein Al-Atas,

03:48emphasised the need to reconstruct history

03:51because history cannot be written only by the winners

03:55or from the perspective of the colonial rulers.

04:04Malaysian history, as other histories,

04:07is always written from the perspective of the British.

04:11essentially Western colonial rule.

04:14And of course, there has been lots of academic accounts,

04:20including by Edward Sine on Orientalism.

04:23But the manner, the whole discipline of history

04:27and culture and society

04:29is being dictated by certain Western viewpoint.

04:34And in the reconstruction of history,

04:37we can, it's also an attempt to understand

04:41that modernity in the Malay world

04:44is not necessarily after British colonial rule.

04:47Similarly, if you understand Indian history,

04:49you can see the vast contribution

04:53of the great rulers in India

04:57who has promoted scholarship,

05:02learning, tolerance.

05:04I made reference to just now

05:06when I visited Mysore about a decade ago

05:09and then, of course,

05:12surprised by the size,

05:14the small size of the palace

05:15of this Sultan of Mysore.

05:17And then, of course,

05:19knew about the fact

05:20that he was one of the first Muslim rulers

05:23that engaged with the Hindu majority

05:28and decided to visit Guru Vayu,

05:32one of the most,

05:34I should say,

05:36one of the oldest Hindu temples in India

05:40and pay respects

05:43to the Hindu Swamiji's and priests.

05:49And because of that,

05:51I decided from the palace of Mysore

05:54to visit the temple,

06:02the Guru Vayu temple

06:03and to understand that, you know,

06:08this is not ordinary

06:10because it only takes leaders

06:13with such wisdom

06:13and tolerance

06:17to engage with his subjects.

06:21So I hope Malaysians

06:24take that opportunity

06:27because it's not found

06:28in many places,

06:30in other places,

06:31at least to understand Indian history,

06:34Muslim history,

06:35history of scholarship

06:37and technology

06:38and tolerance

06:40in the figure of Tipu Sultan.

06:45Now, at this exhibition,

06:47I've been told

06:48that there are many references

06:49to Sultan's belief

06:50that it is, again,

06:53a very famous saying.

06:55In fact, I used that

06:56in some of my earlier campaigns.

06:58Better to live a day as a tiger

07:00than 100 years as a sheep.

07:04There was a reformacy motto also.

07:06That was good is.

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