History Repeats Itself

The purpose of reading history is to learn from the past. History is not only a record of past events but also its analysis. The cause and consequences of various incidents are clearly set out so that we can learn from them. The most important lesson we can learn is not to repeat the mistakes of the past. It is on this score that we fail to learn from history. History, itself bears witness to this fact. Taking the most obvious example, we find Hitler repeating the mistake of Napoleon in invading Russia, disunity among Indians has repeatedly led to foreign rule in India. On the personal level also, we fail to avoid past mistakes.