Lies and half-truths in the name of national integration
A few days ago, while looking for something else, I chanced upon this site which has all the chapters of “The Story of Islamic Imperialism in India” by Sita Ram Goel.
I have not finished reading the chapters yet but two excerpts which hinted at an officially sanctioned policy of revising history caught my eye.
Here is the first one�which has a quote from Mrs. Coomi Kapoor, summarising the guidelines prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in 1982. Mrs Kapoor is quoted as saying:
“History and Language textbooks for schools all over India will soon be revised radically. In collaboration with various state governments the Ministry of Education has begun a phased programme to weed out undesirable textbooks and remove matter which is prejudicial to national integration and unity and which does not promote social cohesion.“
I could not believe my eyes. So here was the official sanction to change history books so that social cohesion can be maintained – truth be damned.
The second excerpt hinted at another “NCERT guideline which proclaims that the conflict between Hindus and Muslims in medieval India shall be regarded as political rather than religious.”
In the words of Sita Ram Goel,
“There is no justification for such a characterisation of the conflict. The Muslims at least were convinced that they were waging a religious war against the Hindu infidels. The conflict can be regarded as political only if the NCERT accepts the very valid proposition that Islam has never been a religion, and that it started and has remained a political ideology of terrorism with unmistakable totalitarian trends and imperialist ambitions.”
So was it a religious or a political conflict? Perhaps it was both…
What is more unsettling though is the “guideline” by NCERT which appears only too willing�to endorse lies and half-truths in the name of social cohesion and national integration.
Related Post:
Taj Mahal: The Biggest Whitewash in Indian�History?
See also: On Aurangzeb, Kashi Vishwanath, Lies and Half-Truths
More on this subject.
1. From a Tribune news-story dated Aug 18 ‘06:
Uproar in RS over NCERT books
“…The Rajya Sabha was thrown into turmoil today as, particularly, the BJP-led opposition members, protested against the alleged distortions in NCERT school textbooks, including description of freedom fighter Balgangadhar Tilak as terrorist.
BJP members, led by Mr Ravi Shanker Prasad, were up on their feet waving copies of NCERT textbooks which, they said, allegedly termed Jat community as marauders and described Tilak a terrorist.
The BJP members were also joined in the protest by the members from Samajwadi Party, Left and Congress who said it was not an issue to be politicized and government should take the matter seriously and correct distortions.”
2. See also this excellent article by Nithin Sridhar “Indian History and ‘Avarana’ [Masking] of Truth by Marxists” published on ivarta earlier this month:
http://www.ivarta.com/columns/070709-Muslim-Destruction-Hinduism.htm
Great Work Shantanu, we just need more people like Sita Ram Goel. And remember not a single among those eminent historians have come forward to refute any claims made by goel because the fact is they are of no match to him.
Thanks Akshar…but praise must really be reserved for Sh Sita Ram Goel and Sh Shourie.
I am merely the messenger.
This is in response to a comment by Aman.
*** Comment by Aman ***
At this point you are merely countering me. You are not providing me with the proof I seek. Give me the NCERT link that I am asking for. Anything else is just diversionary tactics.
I’ll wait for the NCERT link/reliable source link. I have an open mind. Give me a reliable link.
*** My response ***
Since you don’t “trust” Bharatvani, are you implying that Sh Sita Ram Goel is lying when he wrote the following (from this site http://www.bharatvani.org/books/siii/ch1.htm)?
And you want me to provide further proof?! Why dont you simply say you dont trust me, you dont trust Sh Goel and that we are making this up as we go along?!
Shantanu,
2 quick things before I exit this particular discussion. I’d like these to be my last submissions on this particular subject/thread.
(i) You’re right. I do not trust sita ram goel. And I don’t trust bharatvani. bharatvani specially is given to arbitrary & in my personal opinion deliberate misinterpretations to suit “their purpose”.
(ii) And in case that quote is indeed fact, there is a definite need to revaluate the matter in & subsequently revise textbooks across States & the Country, to weed out undesirable matter. There is nothing wrong in that. There is a very definite need for a hawk like watch on this as my link, to the rss school hate preaching textbooks, will have proved to you. We need education, not “prachaar”.
These are school textbooks for God’s sake & it is our responsibility to provide kids an education that leads to them developing an unprejudiced, wholesome World view. If they didn’t watch what they wrote or how they wrote it, we could’ve all grown up hating the British. We all know of their atrocities, but we also knew that they were conquerers & rulers as ruthless as any other, but also about their few good deeds. I’m surely happy that I’ve grown up not hating the British as a race, or the Christians or the Muslims. I thank God for the kind of textbooks I had & for the kind of teachers I had.
It would’ve been very easy to poison my mind if I read a warped view of history or if I had twisted teachers.
So while I’m thankful, I also pity those children who were not given a chance to have an unprejudiced, wholesome World view.
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