Challenge and response

Survival of the persevering – History is a repository of human experiences and one can not only understand the present by studying history but also find solutions to its problems as well. However, historians sometimes present a very pessimistic view of life whereas at other times, they inspire dejected and disillusioned people to struggle for survival.
Oswald Spengler, the German historian, published his book Decline of the West in 1917 and predicted the death of the Western civilization with such forceful and convincing arguments that it made the whole society gloomy. Although, it was a time when Western civilisation was at a great height. The Western powers had colonised most of the Asian and African countries and built their societies on their natural resources. Then the First World War occurred which shocked Europe and demolished its idea of progress. In this atmosphere of gloom and destruction of war, the prediction of Spengler appeared to be correct,
Toynbee, the British historian, published his book The Study of History in 10 volumes which came out from 1934 to 1954 which gave hope to the European civilisation by presenting his theory of ‘challenge and response’. He studied nearly 23 civilisations and concluded that those who responded to the challenges that came before them effectively survived and those who failed, perished. Therefore, it could be inferred from his analysis that in the case of the Western civilisation, its survival and existence would depend on its response to the challenges that were before it. We can see that the Western civilization by producing new knowledge and by exhibiting creativity and fresh perspectives in different aspects of life is preventing its decline.
A community which has responded to severe challenges throughout its history is the Jewish community. In Europe, the Jews suffered all kinds of persecution. They were expelled from France, England, Germany, and Spain but survived because of their perseverance and talents. They engaged in business and excelled at it. The Rothschild family expanded its banking network from Germany to the whole of Europe. Three branches of the family consolidated their financial power in Germany, France, and England. The other aspect in which the Jewish community specialised was scholarship. They produced the best philosophers, writers, social scientists, and scientists. Their domination in business and scholarship transformed the community from a persecuted people to a valuable asset for Western civilization.
We can find many similar examples of minorities learning to survive in different societies by adapting and acquiring vital skills. Often, minority communities acquired knowledge and education to be become a vital part for society. The Christian community in the Ottoman Empire excelled in the art of bureaucracy and administered the empire. The Parsi community in India became the best trading community and earned respect in society because of their skill, hard work and honesty. Hence the action of minority communities throughout the ages have served to demonstrate Toynbee theorising of ‘challenge and response’ and proved that the better a community responds to hurdles, the better are its chances for survival and progress.
We can apply this theory to understand our own history as well. When the Zoroastrians migrated and arrived in India, they preserved their religious identity but adopted the local culture of Maharashtra including the language. Then, they turned their energies to business, trade and commerce and acquired a reputation as good traders. The local rulers respected the community as they were getting economic benefits from them. During the colonial period, the community was the first to adopt Western culture and expanded their business to other parts of India. The community also contributed to the welfare of society. Mumbai and Karachi are the best examples of their work and contribution.
The Bengalis were also amongst the first few communities to respond to colonial challenges by adopting Western education. They competed in the civil service examination and joined the colonial administration. Modern education made them politically conscious of their fundamental rights. When Bengal was partitioned in 1905, the Bengalis launched a campaign and boycotted English goods. They were the first who resorted to such means to achieve their political aims. The British government finally surrendered and annulled the partition. Not only were they politically active but intellectually too. The intellectual response of the Bengalis was to produce excellent literature and create a vibrant identity of their own rooted in regional culture and tradition. Because they had formulated such a strong identity, they played an important role in the struggle for independence against colonialism.
The Muslim community in India faced problems after the decline of the Mughal Empire. The Muslim aristocracy found itself helpless and disillusioned after 1857 and was despondent and had lost all hope of survival. Under these circumstances, the community responded in two distinct ways. One was the foundation of the Deoband madrassah in 1868 to preserve religious identity and to prevent the Muslims from adopting European cultural values. The other was the establishment of Aligarh College to motivate Muslim youth to get modern education in order to get government jobs. However, the Muslims as a community faced strong competition in the acquiring of these government jobs. To avoid it, they demanded a quota in the services. Politically, they were threatened by the Hindu majority which led them to launch a campaign to partition the Indian subcontinent and create a new homeland of their own where they could get jobs without any competition. However, the new country did not prove challenge free. Since its inception, it has been facing political, social, cultural, and economic challenges.
To respond to these challenges, the society, in the words of Toynbee requires a ‘creative minority’. This minority of intellectual is absent in Pakistan. There are plenty of demagogues and brainless speakers. Many of the society’s ideologues still look to military dictatorships as a means to solve its problems. But when these dictatorships fail to perform, these people revert back to politicians who soon disappoint them by their ‘corruption’ and ‘intellectual bankruptcy’. How long society will survive in the swing of this pendulum, it is difficult to predict…

The writer is one of the pioneers of alternate history in the country.