<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/06/indian-government-accused-of-rewriting-history-after-edits-to-schoolbooks>
"The Indian government has been accused of rewriting history to fit its Hindu
nationalist agenda after school textbooks were edited to remove references to
Mahatma Gandhi’s opposition to Hindu nationalism, as well as mention of a
controversial religious riot in which the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was
implicated.
Textbooks were also revised to remove chapters on the history of the Mughals,
the Muslim rulers who controlled much of India between the 16th and 19th
centuries.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which has pursued a Hindu nationalist
agenda that has moved India away from its secular foundations, has been open
about its desire to rewrite the country’s history and break away from what it
describes as the “slave mentality” of colonial oppressors. “It is our
responsibility to write our history,” said the home affairs minister, Amit
Shah, in a 2019 speech.
Since the BJP came to power in 2014, there have been multiple amendments to
textbooks, with critics alleging a “saffronisation” of the curriculum in
schools and universities, a reference to the colour favoured by Hindu
nationalists.
In recent years, references to the Mughals, whom Hindu nationalists consider to
be Muslim oppressors, have been repeatedly removed or amended, while references
to the hardline Hindu nationalist ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as a “most
celebrated freedom fighter” and a “great patriot” have been added.
The new editions of political science and history textbooks published by the
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) drew controversy
over the amendments, some of which were introduced quietly and without the
usual public notifications."
Via Khurram Wadee and Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
