The Importance of Education for Hindutva

by Ram Puniyani

Education has been the major area of work for RSS all through. Since it has a view of Nationalism which is opposed to the concept of Indian Nationalism, it already had made lot of efforts to promote its views through Shakhas, through Sarswati Shishu Mandirs and through Ekal Schools. It has set up organizations to influence the policies in the field of education like Vidya Bharati. It has also started putting its followers in the top positions in Universities and major research institutes of the country. The previous BJP led NDA regime had already started the process of saffronisation by changing the school books [ . . . ]

http://www.sacw.net/article13115.html

India: Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and RSS Outfit ABISY in tango “to build the spirit of nationalism”

At the event, where the guest of honour was the organising secretary of RSS’s Akhila Bharatheeya Itihasa Sankalana Yojana (ABISY), Balmukund Pandey, the council’s chairman Y S Rao announced that ICHR and ABISY will collaborate “to build the spirit of nationalism” through a week-long seminar on the life and work of Swami Vivekananda and Bose. The statements tie in with the current government’s policy of giving importance to figures like Bose, Shivaji and Vivekananda. [. . .]

SEE FULL TEXT: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/army-veteran-at-ichr-seminar-use-netajis-name-to-counter-whats-happening-at-jnu-hcu-4516823/

India: Office-bearer of RSS history wing set to join Indian Council of Historical Research

The Indian Express

Office-bearer of RSS history wing set to join ICHR

The post has been vacant for one-and-half years after historian Gopinath Ravindran, a UPA-II appointee, resigned halfway through his term in June 2015

Written by Ritika Chopra | New Delhi | Published:January 21, 2017 2:57 am

Anand Shanker Singh, an office-bearer of the RSS’s Akila Bharatheeya Itihasa Sankalana Yojana (ABISY) and principal of Iswar Saran Degree College in Allahabad, is set to become the new member-secretary of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).

The post has been vacant for one-and-half years — historian Gopinath Ravindran, a UPA-II appointee, resigned halfway through his term in June 2015, over differences with ICHR’s current head Y S Rao on its decision to disband the advisory committee of its journal comprising 21 historians, including Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib.

Singh, 51, was selected by a panel that included Rao. His candidature has the approval from HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and the appointment will be announced soon.

Singh is currently vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh chapter of ABISY called Itihaas Sankalan Samiti. He has been principal of Iswar Saran Degree College, a constituent college of Allahabad University since 2005, and specialises in Indian numismatics and palaeography and ancient Indian socio-economic history.
“I have worked on the inscriptions and coins found in Mathura and Kaushambi,” he said.

But he is not the only ABISY member to be inducted into the ICHR under the NDA-II government. Council members Narayan Rao, Ishwar Sharan Vishwakarma, Nikhilesh Guha and the ICHR boss himself are associated with the RSS’s history wing.

At the time they were appointed to the Council, Rao was national vice president of ABISY, Vishwakarma was the All-India general secretary, Guha headed the West Bengal chapter of ABISY, and Rao was the chief of the Andhra Pradesh chapter. The ABISY’s official website states that its objective is to write “Bharatheeya history from a national perspective”.

Singh said he had no intimation yet of his appointment. “ICHR’s objective is to improve the research and understanding of history and take it to the common man. If given an opportunity (to serve as its member-secretary), I will also work on these lines. We will try to open more regional centres,” he said.

Asked about his priorities, he said, “I think work should be done on the stratification and dating of Puranas (ancient Indian literature). For instance, when we talk of Vayu Purana, it is generally said that it dates somewhere between second century BC to second century AD. We need to work on this and it is a big job. If this can happen, it will be a big contribution.”

Singh was selected from three candidates interviewed for the post. S K Aruni, who was ICHR’s acting member-secretary since Ravindran’s resignation, was also one of the three aspirants interviewed for the job.

India: Hindutva buffoon with high access to Modi govt wants book 'India’s Struggle for Independence' by acclaimed historian the late Bipan Chandra banned

The Hindu, April 29, 2016

Ban sought on Bipan Chandra’s book

Vikas Pathak

It refers to Bhagat Singh as a ‘revolutionary terrorist’

Hindutva activist Dinanath Batra has written to HRD Minister Smriti Irani to get the late historian Bipan Chandra’s book India’s Struggle for Independence “banned, recalled from everywhere and destroyed.”

Expressing outrage at reports that the book — published in 1987 and in existence as a reference book for history at Delhi University — refers to Bhagat Singh as a “revolutionary terrorist,” Mr. Batra’s letter also demands action against officials of Delhi University’s Directorate of Hindi Medium Implementation for publishing it in Hindi for university usage and “legal action against the authors.”

Mr. Batra got Wendy Doniger’s book The Hindus: An Alternative History pulped more than a year ago.

Co-authors of Bipan Chandra’s book, Professors Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee and Sucheta Mahajan, clarified that the word ‘revolutionary terrorist’ did not have a pejorative meaning when the book was written in the 1980s.

An HRD Ministry official told The Hindu, “As of now, the Ministry has just forwarded a similar complaint by Bhagat Singh’s family members to Delhi University.”

India: ICHR chief Sudershan Rao resigns after 16 months in office

Business Standard

ICHR chief Sudershan Rao resigns after 16 months in office
The Indian Express reported from govt sources as saying that Sudershan was unhappy over the denial of an honorarium of Rs 1.5 lakh a month

BS Web Team | New Delhi November 27, 2015 Last Updated at 12:05 IST

Prof Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who was appointed by the Narendra Modi government 16 months ago as chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), has resigned from his post, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

The newspaper quoted government sources as saying that Sudershan was unhappy over the denial of an honorarium of Rs 1.5 lakh a month.

Rao, however, denied that he was resigning over the honorarium issue.

“There are two points here to clarify. Firstly, I did not hear a yes or a no from HRD (ministry) on this issue for you to say I have decided on those grounds. Secondly, the council passed the request to HRD, it was not my individual request,” Rao was quoted as saying in the newspaper.

In his resignation letter addressed to Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani, Prof Rao simply wrote: “I tender my apologies for causing this inconvenience midway to the government. I relinquish this office with some satisfaction that I could do some good work in ICHR during my term.”

Rao is a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY), the history wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. His appointment to a three-year term in July 2014 was questioned by historians such as Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib over his academic credentials.

On July 21, 2014 in India Today Thapar wrote: "One is surprised at the appointment of Professor Yellapragada Sudershan Rao as chairperson of the ICHR. Prof Rao's work is unfamiliar to most historians, with little visibility of research that he might have carried out."

Earlier, Rao was severely criticised on his views on Hindu mythological texts Mahabharata and Ramayana as valid sources of historicity for research purposes. In 2007, he had advocated the “merits” of the caste system in a blog.

At the ICHR, Rao’s term was marked by at least two major decisions. One was the Council’s decision to pursue a new research project mapping the country’s scientific achievements starting from the Vedic era up to the 18th century. The other, on his recommendation, was the HRD ministry’s appointment of three historians, all office-bearers of the ABISY, to the Council.

Rao’s resignation comes on the heels of reports that Pahlaj Nihalani, the chairman of the film censor board and also an RSS sympathiser, is likely to be eased out for embarrassing the government by producing a 7-minute film that seeks to eulogise Prime Minister Narendra Modi without any official authorisation and which he allegedly forced cinema theatres across the country to air.

In praise of Hemu: Medieval king reveals true intent of Hindutva history (Pragya Tiwari)

Firstpost.com

Oct 10, 2014

In praise of Hemu: Medieval king reveals true intent of Hindutva history

by Pragya Tiwari

The auditorium at the National Museum, in the heart of Delhi, is packed to capacity on the afternoon of the 5th of October. There is standing room only, and that too, barely.

The draw is a symposium to commemorate Hemu, a medieval era king, in an event organized by the Akhil Bhartiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY), a historical research organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and run out of their office in Jhandewalan, Delhi.

The panel consists of Satish Chandra Mittal, President of ABISY, Bal Mukund Pandey, General Secretary of ABISY, Dr Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader, Vinayakrao Deshpande, VHP Joint Secretary, Dr Santosh Kumar Shukla, Associate Professor at the Centre of Sanskrit Studies, JNU and Dr Harish Chandra Verma, member of ABISY and author of Hindu Dharma Aur Devlok. Union Minister of Culture, Shripad Naik was supposed to be present but "had to go to Goa last minute”, says one of the organisers.

A couple of days ago Satish Mittal, former professor at Kurukshetra University and author of "40 books and 400 articles”, had helpfully explained the purpose of this event to me.

"Our history has been distorted by Western, Muslim, Communist and Secularist historians. The Western historians wanted to spread Christianity and help England to rule over us, the Muslims wanted to spread Islam, the Communists wanted Mao to come to India and turn us into atheists.” He did not say what the Secularists wanted but did add that all of the above were mercenaries, writing falsehoods in exchange for power, property and money.

"Stories of true patriots who fought for India have been buried so that we don't find out what a glorious race we are and think of ourselves as the vanquished. We want to commemorate these patriots to boost the morale of the young generation,” he adds.

Mittal reiterates these ideas at the symposium in between talks delivered by other panelists. But there is little by way of commemoration.

The story of Hemu, or Hemchandra Vikramaditya, is summed up as follows - He had humble beginnings but worked his way up, becoming indispensible to a string of Afghan rulers until he finally established himself on the throne of Delhi on the 5th of October, 1556 and set up a Hindu Rashtra after hundreds of years.

We are told that he proved to be a stellar administrator in his 29 day rule. Also that his first Ghoshana Patra (decree) banned cow slaughter and declared that anyone practicing it would be beheaded. Further, he issued a list of corrupt officials and took action against them, altered policy to make his kingdom more business friendly and made new appointments.

At this point Hemu's life story is beginning to sound suspiciously like the 'Myth of Narendra Modi set in Medieval Times'. Every medieval era historian I speak with outside of ABISY tells me that very little is known about Hemu.

None of them has come across any evidence or study that refers to the establishment of a 'Hindu Rashtra' or Ghoshana Patras. "If they have these decrees let them put it out. It will change the way we understand medieval Indian history,” says Sunil Kumar, Professor of Medieval History at Delhi University, calling the claim "astonishing” because "medieval documents were not called ghoshana patras”.

"No king in that period would have put out a plan for intrusive governance so soon after taking control. Consolidation was always a slow process,” he adds.

The Ghoshana Patras are not shown at the symposium but the organizers do screen a "documentary” to prop up their claims. Curiously it largely consists of scenes from Ashutosh Gowariker's 2008 Hindi film, Jodhaa Akbar. A film that was initially either banned or not released in some Indian states after sections of the Rajput community alleged that it intends to distort history.

Regardless the young man sitting in front of me is visibly moved when Bairam Khan (played by Yuri Suri) beheads Hemu (played by Shehzor Ali).

This martyrdom of Hemu is what entrenches his credentials as a desh-bhakt for ABISY. "The Hindu king led from the front in the Second Battle of Panipat and was close to defeating the foreign army of Bairam Khan, regent to a very young Muslim ruler Akbar, when an arrow hit him, changing the course of India's history forever. He was captured and killed and his head was taken to Kabul and exhibited,” says Mittal.

When I ask him why Akbar cannot qualify as an 'Indian', Mittal gives me two reasons.

One, that he always kept "dreaming of Central Asia where his forefathers had come from” and two, that he was an "illiterate man” who "mixed alcohol and opium and consumed copious amounts of this cocktail”.

When I remind him of Akbar's state policy of Sulh-i-kuI (religious tolerance) and equal patronage to all faiths that made him unpopular with the Ulama of his time, Mittal summarily says, "his secularism was a political maneuver, not his conviction.” I am not entirely sure what his sources are ,but this conversation is beginning to sound more like the BJP and its supporters' slander campaign against political opponents – be they Rahul Gandhi's holidays abroad or Priyanka Gandhi "drinking too much alcohol”- than anything we know about Akbar.

The narrative however is more problematic that that. The concepts of nationhood, Hindutva, secularism being used to analyze this episode from medieval times are in fact constructs of modern history.

To call Hemu a patriot would be to suggest that the idea of India as a political state existed in 1556. "There were mentions of Hindustan in that period but it meant different things to different people,” explains Farhat Hasan, Professor of Medieval History at Delhi University. "Identities were extremely parochial- limited to caste, kin and village.” Which is also what makes the idea of Akbar as a foreigner less than credible. "For most people anyone outside their village would have been a foreigner,” says Hasan.

More problematic is the attempt to frame this as a story of Hindu-Muslim conflict. "Merging of different religious, cultural and social identities into one homogenous identity of 'Muslim' is a later development,” says Bhairabi Prasad Sahu, Professor of Ancient History at Delhi University. "There was a lot of borrowing- not conscious but liminal - from each other's cultural and sacred traditions so it is anachronistic to talk of Hindus and Muslims as well-entrenched or uniform religious identities,” explains Hasan.

Hasan gives several examples to illustrate this point, including that of Premakhyan- texts in the Awadhi language written by writers patronized by Afghan rulers that used indigenous religious mythology to explore Sufi thought and were recited in public places. "New forms of religious experience were being created,” he says.

"But even if one could make a case for the presence of distinct religious identities, that does not automatically establish the presence of religious strife. Most evidence suggests people were either appreciative of or indifferent to belief systems different from their own,” adds Hasan.

The role of religious identity in the political sphere is similarly complex. Where Babur's fatehnama (declaration of victory) had several Muslim names in the list of 'kafirs' (non-believers) murdered; the Vijayanagara rulers of indigenous faith called themselves Hindu Raya Suratrana (Sultan amongst Hindu rajas).

The much hyped destruction of places of worship was an expression of conquest and seen in that light. "Hindu rulers did it as much as Muslim rulers,” says Hasan. "Temples patronized by defeated rulers were destroyed. But it is often overlooked that Mahmud Ghazni also destroyed a mosque at Mansura, now in Western Pakistan, on his way to Somnath,” he adds. Outside of wartime, there is evidence to suggest most rulers, including Mughal kings-even Aurangzeb-patronized all kinds of places of worship, even if not equally.

Hemu's own final battle is more accurately a chapter in the extended strife between Afghans and Mughals in India.

"It was common for 'Hindu' chieftains to collaborate with 'Muslim' Sultans against common enemies. The Sharqi Sultans of Jaunpur and the Lodis of Delhi both had Rajput confederates in their armies as they battled with each other,” says Kumar.

So Hemu who worked closely with Sher Shah Suri and Adil Shah actually represented the Afghan forces in battles. His army in the battle of Panipat is likely to have consisted of large numbers of Afghan soldiers.

But despite these complexities, the symposium on Hemu seems determined to reduce his life to that of a Hindutvavadi nationalist.

Subramanian Swamy in his nakedly communal speech says it was due to the struggle of people like Hemu that Muslims and Christians failed to convert "80 percent of Hindus. That is the reason ISIS wants to come back to India. To finish the unfinished task.”

Equally blatant are the political motives behind this effort. "In the elections this year when just over 30 percent of this 80 percent got together see what they could accomplish. Next time more Hindus will unite and vote,” says Swamy.

Mittal reminds us that Hemu banned cow slaughter as soon as he came to power, but cow slaughter has not been banned in independent India. "This is all because of Nehru.”

Nehru, who according to Swamy "listened to no one but Edwina Mountbatten” and was determined to keep India "a junior partner of the British commonwealth.” Jibes against Sonia Gandhi being from Italy are thrown in with even lesser pretext.

The communalization of this chapter goes well beyond Hemu's life. The symposium expresses outrage over the alleged encroachment of Hemu's memorial in Panipat. "It is a Muslim dominated area and they have built a dargah there. It is shameful,” says Vinayak Deshpande. The natural leap from this is Babri Masjid (named, according to a sniggering Swamy, after a young boy Babur was having an illicit affair with) and the Mathura temple. Swamy pledges to "resolve” both matters. "Muslims should cooperate otherwise we have other ways,” he says.

The foremost casualty of this crusade besides the complexity of Hemu's story is the idea of history itself- reimagined here first as farce and then as bigotry.

Mittal says that Hemu was brave because he fought "24 battles and won 22”, which is "more than Guru Gobind Singh”. This limited idea of 'greatness' and paring down of a rich, fascinating history into simplistic tales of heroes and villains is unfortunate. As is the filling of gaps, "the extrapolation”, as Kumar puts it "with no regard to narratives or contexts, just a presentist politics.”

The spirit of questioning and debate that underpins the study of history is difficult to imagine in this auditorium where every vulgar slight made against 'others' is being loudly cheered with slogans of "Bharat Mata ki jai”. To underline the impossibility of intelligent debate Swamy tells his rapturous audience that when Karunanidhi mocked the idea that Ram might have built Ram Setu he was taken ill and rushed to a hospital named after Lord Ram. Naturally, Swamy visited him to rub the moral of the story in- the gods will punish you for asking questions.

What makes this position dangerous is that the VHP, ABISY and BJP leaders on stage are determined to expand the bully pulpit.

"There are six to twelve lines about Maharana Pratap and one and a half lines about Shivaji in NCERT text books. These books must be rewritten,” says Mittal. Swamy, as expected, takes it a step further. "Books written by Romila Thapar, Bipin Chandra Pal and other historians of Nehru must be burnt in a bonfire,” he exclaims to deafening applause. The otherwise xenophobic assembly clearly has no issues drawing from the history of Hitler's Germany.

"This is only the beginning,” says Deshpande, and for once you can count on what he is saying. "ICHR is given Rs 20 crores from the government. Earlier all the grants used to go to Aligarh, Calcutta and JNU,” says Mittal making a highly contestable claim. "Now it must go to the correct places.” Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who has recently been appointed head of the ICHR by the new government, is from ABISY.

There is no saying what these "correct places” will be or what part of history will be rewritten next. And in the absence of common grounds for debate there is no saying how much of it will be credible. But if this symposium is anything to go by there is reason to worry.

In the final speech of the afternoon Bal Mukund Pandey compares Hindus to the tiger who killed a young boy in the Delhi Zoo recently.

"They might not have hunted for many years but that does not mean they have forgotten how to hunt,” he says. The deceased was a "mentally challenged Muslim boy. When he was about to be eaten he did not say Allah but folded his hands in front of the tiger,” he adds smugly. If this is how they spin the voluble present imagine what liberties they might take with the silent past.

India: on Hemchandra Vikramaditya in Panchjanya 12 Oct 2014

India: Names etc of Functionaries of Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojna (Who's Who of Hindutva's History Doctoring Project)

via: http://itihassankalan.org/

राष्ट्रीय कार्यकारी समिति
फोटो पद नाम / पता
संरक्षक एवं मार्गदर्शक श्री हरिभाऊ चिन्तामणराव वझे
यशवन्त भुवन, दीपक सिनेमा के पीछे,
पाण्डुरंग बुधकर मार्ग लोअर, परेल, मुम्बई
दूर.: 022-24947226, 24947330
ई-मेल : vazeharibhau@yahoo.co.in
संरक्षक एवं मार्गदर्शक प्रो. ठाकुर प्रसाद वर्मा
397-ए, गंगा-प्रदूषण-नियन्त्रण मार्ग,
भगवानपुर, वाराणसी-221 005 (उ.प्र.)
दूर.: 0542-2367381, 09450965819
ई-मेल : tpverma2003@yahoo.co.in, thakurverma@gmail.com
संरक्षक एवं मार्गदर्शक श्री चिन्तामणि नारायण परचुरे
528/सी, मेहुणपुरा, शनिवार पेठ,
पुणे-411 030 (महाराष्ट्र)
दूर.:020-24479522, 24490939; 09960897659
राष्ट्रीय संगठन-सचिव श्री बालमुकुन्द पाण्डेय
बाबा साहेब आपटे-स्मृति भवन, ‘ केशव-कुंज’,
झण्डेवालान, देशबन्धु गुप्ता मार्ग,नयी दिल्ली-110 055
दूर.: 011-23675667, 09212447876
ई-मेल : balmukund23@gmail.com
राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष प्रो. शिवाजी सिंह
शिवाला नगर, मोहद्दीपुर,
गोरखपुर-273 008 (उ.प्र.)
दूर.: 0551-2200747, 09628872796
ई-मेल : prof_sivaji@yahoo.com
राष्ट्रीय कार्याध्यक्ष डा. सतीश चन्द्र मित्तल
6/1277 ए, माधवनगर,
सहारनपुर-247 001 (उ.प्र.)
दूर.: 09319480430, 0132-3205527
ई-मेल : prof.scmittal@gmail.com
राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष प्रो. के.एन. दीक्षित
बी-322, सरिता विहार,
मथुरा रोड, नयी दिल्ली-110 076
दूर.: 09810622073
ई-मेल : ias_newdelhi@yahoo.co.uk, iasnewdelhi@rediffmail.com
राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष डा. देवी प्रसाद सिंह
हेमकुंज’, पी.ए.सी. कैम्प के पास,
भूलनपुर, वाराणसी-221 108 (उ.प्र.)
दूर.: 0542-2373099, 09415300469
ई-मेल : vazeharibhau@yahoo.co.in
राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष डा. नारायण राव
प्राध्यापक, इतिहास, दालासाही, पो. खुर्दा,
जि़ला-खुर्दा, ओड़ीशा, पिन-752 050
दूर.: 09437389065, 06755-223058
ई-मेल : narayanrao45@yahoo.co.in
राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष श्री एम् ए नरसिंह
384,कृष्णविलास रोड, मैसुर 570024
कर्नाटक
दूर.: 09437389065, 06755–223058
ई-मेल : narayanrao45@yahoo.co.in
राष्ट्रीय महासचिव डा. शरद हेबाळकर
‘धारिणी’, आदर्श कालोनी,
अंबाजोगाई-431 517 (महाराष्ट्र)
दूर.: 09422742517, 02446-226943
ई-मेल : s_hebalkar@yahoo.co.in
राष्ट्रीय सहसचिव प्रो. ईवरशरण विश्वकर्मा
हीरापुरी कालोनी, विश्वविद्यालय-परिसर,
गोरखपुर-273 001 (उ.प्र.)
दूर.: 09935400244, 0551-2204117
ई-मेल : isvishwakarma@gmail.com
राष्ट्रीय सहसचिव श्री रामप्रकाश शर्मा (शेरसिंह जी)
नं. 513, से. 11, पंचकुला-134 112
(हरियाणा)
दूर.: 0172-2576513, 09465446316
ई-मेल :
राष्ट्रीय सहसचिव श्री जानकी नारायण श्रीमाली
ब्रह्मपुरी चैक,
बीकानेर-334 005,(राजस्थान)
दूर.: 0151-2542992, 09829692829
ई-मेल : chakravartijnshrimali@gmail.com
राष्ट्रीय कोषाध्यक्ष श्री सुरेन्द्र हंस
ए-613 सरिता विहार, ,
नई दिल्ली
दूर.: 09313561460
ई-मेल : surinderhans@gmail.com
राष्ट्रीय सह- कोषाध्यक्ष श्री अमित खरखड़ी
12, श्याम विहार, खैरा रोड, नाहरगढ़,
नजफगढ़-110 043
दूर.: 09811974817
ई-मेल : amitkharkhari@ymail.com
राष्ट्रीय विद्वत् परिषद्-प्रमुख डा एस पी बन्सल
बन्सल कुञ्ज,MIG-17, H B COLONY,SANJOLI,
Simla – 1710 01, Himachal
दूर.: 0177 - 2841389, 09816041389, 09418141389
ई-मेल : spbansal_mtahpu@rediffmail.com
महिला-प्रकोष्ठ संयोजिका श्रीमति अनुराधा राजहंस
234, Spl. C - CIB Quarters,
Kachiguda, Hyderabad-500 027 , (Andhra Pradesh)
दूर.: 040 – 24738915, 09247553878
ई-मेल :
राष्ट्रीय कार्यालय प्रमुख Dr. Ratnesh Tripathi
Apte Bhavan, ‘Keshav Kunj’, Jhandewalan,
New Delhi-110 055
दूर.: 011-23675667, 09999405414, 09210312911
ई-मेल :: ratneshgkp@gmail.com

=========

SEE ALSO the website of the Orissa Branch of ABISY

http://itihassankalan.wordpress.com/

India: Subramanium Swamy Wants 'Polluting History Books' Burnt - His Tweet + Reports in The Hindu and Dainik Jagaran

SEE ALSO:

The Hindu

NEW DELHI,October 6, 2014

Books of Nehruvian historians should be set afire: Swamy

Anita Joshua

The Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy

“Marxist, Muslim and Western historians” were in the line of fire on Sunday at a seminar organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed Akhil Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY) to offer tribute to ‘A Forgotten Hindu Emperor, Maharaja Hemchandra Vikramaditya’ with Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy calling for burning of their books.

The complaint of ABISY — the history wing of the RSS — and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad against these historians was that they had ignored many Hindu historical figures by design. ABISY national president Satish Chandra Mittal said Hemchandra Vikramaditya — who had established ‘Hindu raj’ in North India before the second battle of Panipat, 1556 — was a nationalist. Books written by “Nehruvian historians” such as Bipin Chandra and Romila Thapar should be set afire, Dr. Swamy said.

He said Muslims should give up claim to the disputed land/structures at Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura so that temples could be constructed there. “This will help create a new milieu in the country.” Referring to the disputes over the Ramjanmabhoomi Temple-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvyapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Keshav Dev Temple-Shahi Idgah in Mathura, he said temples should be built there. “Even if the government does not do anything, I will; I will go to court.”

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(पृष्ठ ११ | दैनिक जागरण, नोएडा | ६ अक्टूबर २०१४)

India: RSS's Akhil Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY) hosting a seminar at National Museum

Indian Express

RSS discovers a new Hindu icon: Hemu, who fought Akbar

Written by Shyamlal Yadav | New Delhi | Posted: September 28, 2014 3:16 am

National Museum to host symposium on ‘Last Hindu Emperor of Delhi’

After Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has found a new Hindu icon among medieval Indian royalty: Hemu, the vanquished combatant in the Second Battle of Panipat, whose defeat ended the shortlived rule of a Hindu king over Delhi, and led to the resurrection of Mughal power in India.

The Akhil Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY), the history wing of the RSS, will next month pay tributes to “Maharaja Hemchandra Vikramaditya”, the “Great Warrior of India”, and “the last Hindu Emperor of Delhi”.

The ceremony, at Delhi’s National Museum on October 5, will be presided over by the Union Minister of Culture, Shripad Yesso Naik. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy will be the chief guest. Among the speakers will be Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) joint general secretary Vinayak Deshpande.
Hemu, a brilliant military commander for the Afghan successors of Sher Shah Suri had, after a trail of successful campaigns against both Afghan rebels and the Mughals, declared himself emperor of Delhi in October 1556 — the first Hindu king to control the city since the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate at the beginning of the 13th century.

Barely a month later, on November 5, 1556, Hemu met the Mughal army led by the generals of the then 14-year-old Akbar at the battlefield of Panipat.
He led from the front, and was said to have been on the verge of victory, when a freak arrow struck him in the eye, knocking him off his battle elephant, and triggering panic among his troops.

The battle changed course dramatically after that, and a general massacre of Hemu’s army followed. The injured Hemu himself was captured and beheaded by Bairam Khan, Akbar’s guardian, paving the way for re-establishment of Mughal rule in Delhi, which lasted for another 300 years before it was ended by the British.

The invitation card for the October 5 ceremony describes the event as “A Forgotten Hindu Emperor Maharaja Hemchandra Vikramaditya: A Tribute”. B M Pande, organising secretary of ABISY, who will speak at the event, told The Sunday Express, “We are always in favour of recognising and remembering our forgotten, real heroes who were deliberately ignored by the biased historians of the Mughal and British era.”
Shivaji and Pratap, who resisted the Mughals, are already huge icons for the RSS. June 6, Shivaji’s Coronation Day, is among the five festivals the

RSS celebrates officially every year (the others being Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandhan, Makar Sankranti and Varsh Pratipada).

The ABISY is an RSS front engaged in writing and propagating the Sangh’s view of India’s history. As reported by The Indian Express recently, one of its major ongoing projects is to provide an “Indian perspective” to history by writing it on the basis of the Puranas. The ABISY is also working on a “district-level history”, and the history of over 600 Indian tribes.

This is the first time that an RSS programme is being organised at the National Museum. A museum officer said that while the Minister would chair the programme, the museum has only allowed the organisers the use of its auditorium, which is meant for cultural and academic events.

Historian Prof Sunil Kumar of Delhi University declined to comment on the celebration of Hemu. “There is no history (in programmes such as these)… This is just politicisation of history. A historian cannot comment on this,” Prof Kumar said.

Pande denied the RSS was making a fresh bid to re-interpret India’s history because a BJP-led government was back in power at the Centre. “It is just a coincidence. This is part of our ongoing programme. We are here to remember all our heroes. It is our duty to remember Hemu and his valour,” he said.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/rss-discovers-a-new-hindu-icon-hemu-who-fought-akbar/99