As we talk about decolonising knowledge and make efforts in this regard, we should be clear about what needs to be done. There is a possible and most probably danger that we will replace euro-centric history with another centric history

Euro-centric history

1. There is an increasing realisation, and rightly so, about what’s wrong with euro-centric history – the one that dominates the world.
2. However, this is not the case with other-centric histories, which are also problematic and cause advantages and disadvantages for peoples, races, ethnic groups and religious followers.
3. Other-centric histories operate around the world – similar to euro-centric history – and they are also causing havoc and disadvantages for groups and societies, through maintaining euro-centric style domination and subordination relationship with respect to knowledge and historical interpretations.
4. They are also problematic and needs to be addressed at the earliest to prevent either their consolidations or remove their dominance if they have already established euro-centric style dominations wherever they exist.

Other-centric history

1. Within every group and sub-groups around the world – whether based on ethnicity, race, faith, religion, gender, class, regions, nations, etc. – there are divisions based on economics, education, etc.
2. Within each group and sub-groups, some have the power to dominate, while those they dominate are powerless to resist being dominated.
3. Those who can achieve a monopoly in knowledge generation/dissemination (including on historical interpretations/explanations), they generate advantages for their groups at the expense of other groups.

The powers of history

1. History can create problems as well as help solve them. It has the power to both imprison or liberate people.
2. Those who work at the cutting-edge levels of historical research/interpretations, they acquire the most powers of history.
3. The choice for us: either engage at the cutting-edge levels or be prepared to be interpreted into marginalisation, delegitimization and exclusion, or even extermination.
4. Those who define are the masters and, in contrast, those who redefine can become the liberators.

Engagement with history is a necessity

Because groups face a disadvantage when they:

1. Are subjected to excessive politicised history
2. Have poor knowledge, imagination and intellectual capacity
3. Fail to engage at the cutting-edge levels of research and writing
4. Are always the recipients of outsiders’ interpretations/explanations
5. Experience double standards.

Hierarchies of power

Economics; history; knowledge; social; etc.

= groups experience different levels and types of advantages and disadvantages in relation to one another, depending on their positions in the hierarchies.