PM Defends New History Syllabus

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Mumbai - By Pamela Raghunath - 07-01-2003 Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday slammed the opposition for criticising his government's efforts to rewrite history and said it was time students were given the right perspective on India's past, and immediately invited the wrath of educationists here.

 

Referring to charges by the opposition that the centre was saffronising education, Vajpayee said the "idea of rewriting history textbooks was not laced with any vested interests or malicious objectives, as was being alleged by the opposition.

 

"We are trying to correct history whilst all these years they were engaged in distorting it," he said at a function after laying the foundation stone for Vivekanand Educational Society's Hashu Advani Memorial Educational Complex in Chembur.

 

Though the history of India's freedom struggle had been marked by various achievements, the unpleasant aspects of history, including the setback suffered by the freedom movement due to internal differences, had to be put across to students in an objective manner, he said.

 

"Due to divisions amongst ourselves, most of the time we had to face defeat," he pointed out in his 30-minute speech.

 

Despite the government's efforts to eradicate illiteracy, lack of financial resources and other constraints were posing hindrances, he said. He expressed disappointment that not just "lack of resources, but dedication and determination also appear to be missing".

 

With education being made a fundamental right through an amendment in the Constitution, Vajpayee said it was now time for selfless and patriotic educators to come forward to ensure that every Indian was literate and received education.

 

He said educational institutions should not merely restrict themselves to producing degree holders but infuse students with culture and a strong value system.

 

Referring to Indians settled abroad, the prime minister said that India had a wealth of talented people who chose to go abroad and invest their intelligence and energy. He said it was time to develop an environment that encouraged this talent to remain in India.

 

Praising the efforts of late Hashu Advani, one of the founders of the Vivekanand Education Society, which celebrated its 40th year yesterday, Vajpayee pointed it was people like Advani, who through their dedication and sacrifice, had made dreams into reality. Set up in 1962 with just six rooms and 200 students, the Vivekananda Society now boasts over 18,000 students, eight institutes and 36 branches.

 

Reacting to Vajpayee's criticism of the opposition which has condemned his government's efforts to rewrite history text books as "they (Congress governments) were engaged in distorting it", most educationists who talked to Gulf News feel the government's priorities are mixed up with their political agenda.

 

The government should not dabble in rewriting history but must focus on providing quality education to all Indian children and simultaneously give a new direction to students in the rat race for admissions, academicians said yesterday.

 

"It is a professional's job to constantly revaluate our past as new information and sources are examined," says Mariam Dossal, Head of the History Department, University of Mumbai.

 

"The Bharatiya Janata Party's idea of showing India as having a monolithic past by ignoring the diverse influences that have contributed to its richness is something very serious. It has nothing to do with history but politics and power," she says.

 

The prime minister, on the contrary, should be telling these writers to keep off history and leave it to the educationists, says Dossal.

 

She added, "India is incredibly rich to be blessed with such a long history. It needs to be looked at with an open mind."

 

To give a unified approach to Indian history right from the Rig Veda which goes back a long way and to put restrictions on the pastoral Aryans, for instance that they did not eat beef, is unthinkable, says Professor Uday Mehta, former Vice-Principal and head of sociology department of Mithibai College.

 

Mehta, who has written several books on religion, including the Modern Godmen in India - a history of International Society of Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) and Rajneesh, says while research and hard facts from archaeological findings are put on the backburner, the government is also ignoring educational reforms required to make both teachers and students involved in their work.

 

According to Bhagwanji Rayani, a civil engineer who is involved with filing Public Interest Litigations for the Forum for Fairness in Education: "I do not agree with Vajpayee. Rewriting history has turned into a distortion of facts. We have to accept both the courageous or cowardly aspects of our past. History should be left to the experts and to an autonomous body rather than politicians.