NEW DELHI: Many historians and academicians slammed NCERT over removing references to the dislike of Hindu extremists for Mahatma Gandhi’s pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity, banning of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) after his assassination and dropping the word ‘Brahmin’ of his assassin Nathuram Godse.
Historians and academicians alleged that this is an attempt to politicise education.
Reacting to the move, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said communal rewriting of history intensifies,” while the Congress Party Jairam Ramesh called it “whitewashing with a vengeance.”
Speaking to the TNIE, Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and author of Let’s Kill Gandhi!: A Chronicle of His Last Days, the Conspiracy, Murder, Investigation, Trials, and the Kapur Commission, said that he is not surprised that the NCERT has deleted references to Gandhi from the political science textbook of Class 12. “It is an expected move by the Sangh Parivar. I am not surprised.”
“They are writing history that is convenient to them. This is a tragedy. They are politicising education. It is a tragedy and a matter of concern for all of us. They are tarnishing India’s image globally and are making India a laughing stock in front of the world.”
He further said that it is “laughable” and “childish” how they remove references to RSS and Godse from the chapter on Gandhi.
“Now, they are in power, so they are utilising this to give velocity to their agenda. This will further increase. They have been campaigning that India’s image is being tarnished. But they are tarnishing India’s image globally. This move paints an inferior image of India internationally. Gandhi is a respected figure historically and internationally. This rewriting of history will not be seen well,” Gandhi said.
Ashis Nandy, a noted sociologist and clinical psychologist, said “One of the most dangerous things of the 20th century is interfering with history. It began in the 1930s with Nazi Germany, and where it reached the level of book burning. What is happening now is deeply disturbing as similar attempts are being made.”
“There is an attempt to manipulate history. Nazi Germany attempted that there will be one history. The same attempt is being made now. The attempt is to present a history verified by the state,” he told the TNIE.
Prof Mridula Mukherjee, who taught history at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), for over four decades, said that the NCERT “quietly” deleted references to Gandhi, the role of RSS, and banning of RSS.
“They (NCERT) had last year circulated what they had deleted. But these deletions have suddenly cropped up as part of the effort to rationalise the syllabus. There could be many more deletions. We will now have to compare line by line. This shows that NCERT can’t be trusted. They did it quietly without circulating the changes made to the textbooks. This is a serious matter.”
Prof Irfan Habib, historian, and author, added that this is not rationalisation, but politics. “This has more to do with present politics than history. This is blatant. This is rubbish. You are teaching the present generation a disconnected past. They are dividing history into Muslim and Hindu lines. They don’t know history is interconnected. Removing portions on Gandhi will have a global impact.”
Describing the move as an “old game” of the BJP, Prof K N Shrimali, a retired history professor from Delhi University, said this happens every time. “I am not surprised. It is their notion of presenting skewed history.”
However, Prof. Makkhan Lal, archaeologist, and historian, who taught at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), said, “incorrect history was being presented till now, and now the correct step has been taken in the right direction, but it came too late.”
