POLITICS OF HISTORY

The Sangh Parivar is at war with India’s history, which is in no small measure aided by the British rulers’ interpretations and interventions. The Somnath temple and Babri Masjid controversies are cases in point.

A.G. NOORANI

HISTORY has played havoc with India’s nationalism and its secular ideal, in recent decades especially. The sport continues still to exact its grisly toll, blessed by men in the apex of power. In his very first speech to the Lok Sabha as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi moaned over 1,000 years of servitude, not 200 years under British rule.

The difference between Hindu nationalism and Indian nationalism could not have been exposed more clearly. Rahul Mahajani reported in Mid-day of August 24, 2018, on the modus operandi of the hate group that is accused of being privy to the conspiracy to murder the rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar. It is said to have recruited trained and young men by “feeding [them] one-sided history” during treks, visits to old forts and through lectures. These lectures would start with the atrocities committed by Mughals and then slowly make their way into current affairs.

British rulers played a significant role in the making of India’s history. It was based on crass ignorance and was often motivated. The great Hindu civilisation and culture were ridiculed, and Muslims were denounced as oppressors from whom Hindus were liberated.

In Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth (Penguin Ran-