PM Modi emphasised the need for widening the scope of research on modern Bharatiya (Indian) history. PM was speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society.
“PM Modi asked the academic and cultural institutions to produce well-researched work on the contributions of social reformer Swami Dayanand Saraswati, whose 200th birth anniversary would fall in 2024, as well the Arya Samaj that he founded in 1875 and is going to complete 150 years of its existence in 2025. The need for institutions in the country to create well-audited and researched recorded memory for the benefit of the present as well as future generations was also emphasized upon”, notes IBEF.
History of modern Bharat
Bharat’s history has long been left at the mercy of leftist historians who have distorted history to suit their agenda and propaganda. The current initiative is an opportunity to rectify history and include those chapters from Bharat’s history that have been ignored thus far.
Congress (Gandhi & Nehru among leaders) has been given the entire credit for Bharat’s freedom. This completely overlooks the role of other leaders, movements, and organizations that played a crucial part in the Bharatiya independence movement. The waves of revolutionaries and revolutionary movements need to be examined in detail.
Sachindranath Sanyal, who pioneered the armed resistance against the British and inspired as well as mentored an entire generation of Bharatiya youths to fight the British, is one name that immediately comes to mind. He founded Anushilan Samiti and was associated with the Gadar party.
Ram Prasad Bismil, Chandrasekhar Azad, Tilak, Bhagat Singh, Batukeshwar Dutt, Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Veer Savarkar among numerous others have remained ignored for a long time.
Those who contributed during the 1857 first war of Independence also remain understudied to say the least. King of Khasis Tirot Sing has also been conveniently overlooked. The struggle of Netaji Bose highlighted the high-command structure and dictatorial grip of Gandhi-Nehru over Congress.
There is a need to bring forth those names who haven’t gotten their due. PM Modi’s appeal would encourage institutions and researchers to produce well-researched work on unsung heroes and give them their rightful place in Bharat’s history and public memory.
History of ancient and medieval Bharat
Medieval Bharatiya history has borne the maximum brunt of distortions of leftist historians. Achievements of great Hindu rulers such as Samrat Vikramaditya of Ujjain find no place in textbooks and public consciousness. Another missing chapter is the Heroic Hindu resistance by several dynasties that kept Islamic invaders at bay for more than six centuries.
The contributions of Dharamveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj must be brought to light. It is also important to make Bharatiyas aware of the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Baji Prabhu Deshpande, Avanijanashraya Pulakesin, Samudragupta, and Rajaraja I Chola among others. Hindu dynasties such as Guptas, Kakatiyas, Cholas, Pratiharas, Gajapatis, and several others need to be studied in-depth.
Bharat’s ancient and medieval history has shaped the country’s civilization. However, they remain the most distorted because we have been continuing colonial theories such as the Aryan Invasion- Migration that has been debunked by various pieces of evidence, Rakhigarhi DNA analysis being one of them. An impartial and detailed research into Hindu Dharmic granthas is also necessary.
Not just research but putting together all the pieces of evidence and presenting a factual history of the nation is the need of the hour. We must also relook at the definitions of timelines which conform to the western notions currently but the Bharatiya civilization predates the west by several centuries. History must be studied from the Bharatiya perspective and not according to western notions.
