India is not a secular country

[gulte]

In 1996, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) conducted an evaluation of school textbooks in various subjects, including those prescribed in Vidya Bharati schools in the country. It found that many of the Vidya Bharati textbooks were "designed to promote bigotry and religious fanaticism in the name of inculcating knowledge of culture in the young generation."
[...]
Muslims are painted as the enemies of the nation and responsible for Partition, and the Hindu communal forces as the greatest patriots and nationalists. The conflict between the Mughals and the Marathas and Rajputs, also feudal powers are given the status of nationalist struggles. Shivaji and Rana Pratap are great national heroes for their opposition to ‘Muslim power’. Similarly, K.S. Hegdewar and M.S. Golwalkar are great heroes in the books used as part of Sanskar Saurabh series where as Nehru does not find a mention. Among the great men of India no Muslim or Communist finds reference, where as the most insignificant of Hindu heroes are extolled in extravagant terms. Those who cannot be ignored by any means are appropriated by misrepresenting them and what they stood for, as, for example, Bhagat Singh.
[...]




there re numerous references, questions, and arguments in favour of the destruction of Babri Masjid, the presentation of the Kar Sevaks of the uninterrupted line of ‘freedom fighters’, of Mulayam Singh Yadav as a ‘mullah’ and murderer of Hindus.
[...]

All i see is vagueness and nothing else. If the author of article has cited references to other acquisition's why not these, this is just a propaganda from a Marxist. Similarly you won't find references of Bhagat Singh and Subash Chandra Bose in Left ruled states. Every one has their own agenda.

Child marriage, jauhar, sati, purdah, jadu-tona and superstition were all due to the fear of the Muslims (p. 284 HSIB 1)

This i will accept as unnecessary thing to be included in textbooks.

 

[Bang Galore]

Absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating Hinduism but, apparently, these guys do it at the expense of other religions.



In 1996, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) conducted an evaluation of school textbooks in various subjects, including those prescribed in Vidya Bharati schools in the country. It found that many of the Vidya Bharati textbooks were "designed to promote bigotry and religious fanaticism in the name of inculcating knowledge of culture in the young generation."
[...]
Muslims are painted as the enemies of the nation and responsible for Partition, and the Hindu communal forces as the greatest patriots and nationalists. The conflict between the Mughals and the Marathas and Rajputs, also feudal powers are given the status of nationalist struggles. Shivaji and Rana Pratap are great national heroes for their opposition to ‘Muslim power’. Similarly, K.S. Hegdewar and M.S. Golwalkar are great heroes in the books used as part of Sanskar Saurabh series where as Nehru does not find a mention. Among the great men of India no Muslim or Communist finds reference, where as the most insignificant of Hindu heroes are extolled in extravagant terms. Those who cannot be ignored by any means are appropriated by misrepresenting them and what they stood for, as, for example, Bhagat Singh.
[...]
there re numerous references, questions, and arguments in favour of the destruction of Babri Masjid, the presentation of the Kar Sevaks of the uninterrupted line of ‘freedom fighters’, of Mulayam Singh Yadav as a ‘mullah’ and murderer of Hindus.
[...]
Child marriage, jauhar, sati, purdah, jadu-tona and superstition were all due to the fear of the Muslims (p. 284 HSIB 1)


That's just a quick skim of the first few pages...

You raise valid questions but you also need to understand that India has a rather unique problem. Most countries can have a clear, single position on history i.e. the invaders were always wrong, were a murderous, tyrannical bunch, barbarians & the like. If you ended up conquering the country, either actually or culturally, you can then claim that the original inhabitants were a murderous, tyrannical bunch, barbarians..........etc. If you have a mix of the people involved, then your take on history has to nuanced to reflect everyone's concerns, especially when it is being taught to children as part of a curriculum. This is how history is written in India. Post independence, to buttress secular credentials and also to promote amity/prevent animosity between communities, the historical records were presented in such a way as to whitewash certain actions pertaining to muslim rulers/invaders so as to not blame such actions on religious motives. Elaborate explanations were created suggesting other possible reasons for unpalatable actions. This might even have served India well during the immediate post independence era. However such reading of history always leads to some sort of a counter action where a version of history using the very same facts is read completely differently. The dichotomy you see is a tussle of those factional battles.

History is a very unpalatable subject since it is only viewed subjectively & not objectively. What you see depend on where you see it from! Where we can see guys like Mir Jafar as traitors, it is equally possible for the other side to label whole populations as corruptible & lacking morals.

Best to move on knowing that we will never always agree with history.

Btw, Purdah & jauhar were a direct outcome of Muslim invasions while the others were not.

 

[Developereo]

History is a very unpalatable subject since it is only viewed subjectively & not objectively.

I would think that most Muslims in India would be mature enough to accept that the Islamic conquest entailed some degree of tyranny and oppression. By the same token, most non-Muslims would be mature enough to understand that fellow Muslims of today cannot be held accountable for past misdeeds.

The problem, I think, happens because of Kashmir because it is an echo of 1947. I think the broader relationship with Pakistan would stabilize -- similar to Bangladesh or Sri Lanka -- if Kashmir were resolved so it is really Kashmir which is the sticking point. There is nothing the Indian Muslims can do about Kashmir -- they can keep proclaiming their patriotism form the rooftops and denounce Kashmiri separatists -- but the anti-Muslim crowd will always use Kashmir as a constant reminder of past grievances and keep the Muslims on the defensive.

 

[Andross]

Kashmir is the sticking point but until ISI drop their dogs in LET, JEM nothing will change

 

[Manas]

well,Can you this happen in any Muslim country without invocation of the blasphemy laws??


This lady is very much free, not to mention alive, thats how you know... India is secular and why its doesn't need any certificates from Pakistanis.

Go to 5.40m

 

[EastWest]

well,Can you this happen in any Muslim country without invocation of the blasphemy laws??


This lady is very much free, not to mention alive, thats how you know... India is secular and why its doesn't need any certificates from Pakistanis.

Go to 5.40m

only in india such a thing happens

First she should go and teach islam to muslims..before teaching hindus about it..

 

[jayron]

I would think that most Muslims in India would be mature enough to accept that the Islamic conquest entailed some degree of tyranny and oppression. By the same token, most non-Muslims would be mature enough to understand that fellow Muslims of today cannot be held accountable for past misdeeds.

The problem, I think, happens because of Kashmir because it is an echo of 1947. I think the broader relationship with Pakistan would stabilize -- similar to Bangladesh or Sri Lanka -- if Kashmir were resolved so it is really Kashmir which is the sticking point. There is nothing the Indian Muslims can do about Kashmir -- they can keep proclaiming their patriotism form the rooftops and denounce Kashmiri separatists -- but the anti-Muslim crowd will always use Kashmir as a constant reminder of past grievances and keep the Muslims on the defensive.

I am not sure what the Vidya Bharati history book says. But the standard CBSE book does not discuss about Pakistan or Kashmir and the 3 wars fought as far as I can remember. Except for Babur and Auranagezb, all other muslim rulers are shown as heros. To be frank, history would be the least favorite subject for most and hence no one cared much.

 

[KS]

Looks like nobody bothered to read the article I quoted. Once again: BJP’s Assault on Education and Educational Institutions



The rest of the article details some very disturbing material from the coursework.

The BJP may have gotten smarter about hiding their true agenda but does the leopard ever change its spots?

The source you gave is as neutral as Saamna on the opposite spectrum.

For starters Saamna is the mouth piece of Shiv Sena.

 

[jayron]

@ Karthik, do we have Vidya Bharati in TN? Never heard of it.

 

[KS]

Muslims are painted as the enemies of the nation and responsible for Partition, and the Hindu communal forces as the greatest patriots and nationalists. The conflict between the Mughals and the Marathas and Rajputs, also feudal powers are given the status of nationalist struggles. Shivaji and Rana Pratap are great national heroes for their opposition to ‘Muslim power’. Similarly, K.S. Hegdewar and M.S. Golwalkar are great heroes in the books used as part of Sanskar Saurabh series where as Nehru does not find a mention. Among the great men of India no Muslim or Communist finds reference, where as the most insignificant of Hindu heroes are extolled in extravagant terms. Those who cannot be ignored by any means are appropriated by misrepresenting them and what they stood for, as, for example, Bhagat Singh.

First of all none of the Mughal emperors except Babr, Aurangazeb are shown in a negative light and infact Akbar is celebrated as a great and compassionate king. As for as the negative light on Aurangazeb and Babar are concerned yes that is fully justified as they were nothing but religious bigots.

And as for as the absence of great Muslims is concerned , yes I studied about Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad etc in my seventh history and so did others across various syllabus.

And Shivaji is considered a hero because he stood against the tyranny of Aurangazeb and killed a foreign invader, Afzal Khan. Again justified.

[...]

there re numerous references, questions, and arguments in favour of the destruction of Babri Masjid, the presentation of the Kar Sevaks of the uninterrupted line of ‘freedom fighters’, of Mulayam Singh Yadav as a ‘mullah’ and murderer of Hindus.
[...]

Pure unadulterated BS if I may say so. None of the books even care for a non-entity called Mulayam.

Child marriage, jauhar, sati, purdah, jadu-tona and superstition were all due to the fear of the Muslims (p. 284 HSIB 1)

Dont know about child mariage but yes, sati originated because of the Islamic invasions and the accompanying rape and pillage in case of defeat.The women preferred to die than being humiliated.

 

[Agnostic_Indian]

heard bjp in karnataka is teaching bhagavat geeta ? is it in govt school ?

 

[KS]

@ Karthik, do we have Vidya Bharati in TN? Never heard of it.

Nope never heard of it.

There is a Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. But it is different

 

[aakash_2410]

This is funny!

This is an allegation on "ON PAPER" most secular republic country by a citizen of theocratic [hope you know what that means] country with blasphemy and marshall laws??!!

 

[Developereo]

Regardless of the author's ideological bent, the article quotes textbooks from schools in BJP ruled states. For people who disagree, it may not reflect the syllabus in your particular school, or when you went to school.

The point is that the BJP has an agenda, which it has sugarcoated for now, but the core philosophy hasn't changed. It considers India to be a Hindu country, not a secular state. It is a perfectly legitimate view as far as history and cultural identity is concerned -- of course Hinduism and India go hand-in-hand for thousands of years -- but the BJP propaganda also diminishes and vilifies minority, especially Islamic, contribution to India's heritage.

And the issue of sati has already been debated. It had existed for centuries, long before Muslims ever came to India.

 

[acetophenol]

actually,why are paks always trying to prove that india is unsuccesful,failed nation? Why are they desperately trying to find black marks on
India's succeses? Whenever we do something good,some
One shows up with a point to harass us. There are several threads harassing our achievements like lca,arjun,agni ,prithvi even the dhruv.
There was atleast something good in all these defence related harasements,as it provides some good discusions.but this has gone so far.what is the point in running these threads like some lunatic barbarians?
Why paks are trying to haras india like this? Is it to find your success in OUR FAILURES,as you don't have successes of your own?
Or is it to find some heavenly ecstacy?