‘Shows Sangh’s fear of history': Kerala CM reacts to NCERT move on Mughals

Joining the chorus against NCERT removing chapters on Mughal history from its textbooks, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said the move shows ‘constant fear of history' of the Sangh Parivar.

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“The Sangh Parivar lives in constant fear of history as it exposes their true colours. They resort to rewriting history and masking it with lies. So we must strongly protest the decision of the BJP government to delete certain sections from NCERT textbooks. Let the truth prevail!” tweeted Vijayan.

The ‘Sangh Parivar’ is an umbrella term used for the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and outfits associated with it, including, among others, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of which RSS is the ideological mentor.

What did NCERT do?

On April 2, Hindustan Times reported that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has done away with chapters on Mughals from history books for both Class XI (Themes In World History) and Class XII (Themes of Indian History-Part II), and for both the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Uttar Pradesh Board.

The educational body, however, claims chapters on Mughals were still there. Dinesh Prasad Saklani, NCERT chief, even described the controversy as ‘unnecessary.’

Also Read | No chapter on Mughal courts for CBSE, UP Board Class 12 students now

Opposition parties hit out

Opposition leaders have strongly objected to the move. In a jibe at prime minister Narendra Modi, former Union minister Kapil Sibal remarked that modern Indian history should begin from 2014 (when Modi began his first term).