This Instagram Page Is Documenting South Asian History By Featuring The 바카라�Vanquished바카라�

This text accompanies a black-and-white portrait of an elderly woman. The image and the caption were submitted by her grandson to an Instagram page바카라� Brown History. In this tale, we do not know the names of the grandmother or the grandson. We know very little about this woman who lived in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, a few years ago.

The grandson, while talking about his grandmother says, he remembers 바카라�how at night her eyes shone like hessonite gems at arm바카라�s length of a kerosene lamp.바카라�

And so, we can summon the image of a young boy looking at his grandmother in a small town in Sri Lanka during the 바카라�80s, seeking comfort in her gaze amid a civil war.

This is just one of the hundreds of posts available on Brown History바카라�a project, initiated by Montreal-based electrical engineer, Ahsun Zafar. Brown History aims to let the 바카라�Vanquished바카라� retell South Asian history.

And if you바카라�re wondering how can an Instagram page embark on such a massive journey, all you have to do is scroll through the page.

Right from Muhammad Ali바카라�s visit to India, to someone recounting how their parents met in pre-partition Punjab, to the racism that one experienced as a first-generation immigrant in the US, Brown History addresses a wide range of issues.

The page documents history in a very unconventional manner바카라� it relies on stories submitted through the internet. And by this, Ahsun aims to let the 바카라�losers바카라� narrate South Asian history.

바카라�Winston Churchill once said, 바카라�history is written by the victors but with Brown History, it바카라�s written by the people who lost. We have all grown up reading textbooks written by people who won the war, people who wrote stories which they wanted to narrate, to make them look good. And Brown History attempts to change that. It gives people a platform to submit their stories, in a way by which they are acknowledged,바카라� says Ahsun.

But it바카라�s no small task to 바카라�retell바카라� South Asian history, when the region has been wrought with war, violence, enmity and division. However, Ahsun feels that바카라�s precisely why his project is important. 바카라�These stories allow people to see each other as human beings and not as statistics. There바카라�s so much division in South Asia, which has arisen due to the fear of the other. We are all afraid of the unknown. And the only way to get rid of this fear, is to get to know the people, you are afraid of,바카라� he says.

The project materialised in 2017 with Ahsun wanting to learn more about his history.

바카라�As I diaspora kid, living in Canada, I wanted to know more about my roots. Brown History is essentially a conversation I am having with myself, where everybody else is listening in as well,바카라� he says.

And when asked if his project is an example of the Empire fighting back, Ahsun says his page does that unintentionally and automatically.

바카라�It wasn바카라�t really about fighting back. When you tell your story and your truth or what you think is the truth, you are automatically fighting a power that tells you the opposite story. So, it is just being you, in a world that바카라�s constantly telling you who you are and what you should do,바카라� Ahsun says.

Certain posts on the page, give the viewer a sense of déjà vu.

For instance, a post that has a picture published in The New Yorker in 1987 shows a group of people holding placards that read 바카라�Hudson Against Racism바카라�. The caption further elaborates on the anti-racism movement prevalent in New Jersey at the time, something that emerged as a response to hate crimes against South Asians. The post makes one immediately draw parallels between the anti-racism movement then and the Black Lives Matter movement, now.

When asked about this, Ahsun says, 바카라�History does repeat itself and if it does not repeat it definitely rhymes. There바카라�s always some new power that comes to be and it does whatever it can to maintain that power. Those who are not aware of the past fall into a trap and they just repeat the cycle. But if everybody understood the past and how communities that are in power oppress minorities, they would know better and that바카라�s why history is important.바카라�

But it is not easy to always demarcate documentation and activism and in fact many would say it바카라�s wrong to mix the two. And with a project like Brown History, the lines blur. However, Ahsun believes there바카라�s nothing wrong in it. 바카라�I try to stay neutral but if I am quiet and silent to injustice then I have automatically chosen the oppressor바카라�s side. And I cannot do that. I want no part in someone바카라�s oppression,바카라� he says.

But neutrality brings with it another set of problems, that of representation and portrayal. And when working with a group as diverse and conflicted as South Asians, criticism and allegations of bias are sure to rear their ugly head. And Ahsun admits that it바카라�s becoming more difficult, with every passing day.

바카라�No matter what, you are going to piss off people. If I post something about Hindus, then Muslims attack me and vice versa. If I post about the treatment of Shias in Pakistan, then the rest of Pakistan will hate on me and say that I am making Pakistan look bad. But if you are a Shia Or Ahmadi Muslim, then the Pakistan that you live in, is very different compared to the Pakistan that an upper-class, Sunni Muslim lives in. But I Don바카라�t let the negativity get to me, I accept stories from everyone and do not discriminate,바카라� says Ahsun.

Further elaborating on this, he says that while history is complicated, each person/group is probably a victim in its own way and we all should 바카라�have the right to have our pain acknowledged바카라�.

Brown History began as a personal project and within three years it has gained more than 500K followers. And Ahsun has been overwhelmed with all the love and support he has received during this time.

바카라�For every person, who abuses me, there are 10 others extending encouragement and support and that바카라�s what keeps me going,바카라� he says.

And now, the Montreal-based electrical engineer hopes to compile all that he has documented in the form of a book in the near future.