[sacw] SACW #2 | 19 Nov. 02 [ Doctoring of History in Pakistan - India]

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | 19 November 2002

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

A very important report regarding the American Funding of Hindutva=20
circuits of RSS /VHP is to be released to media in India on 20th=20
November at 3.30 pm at the Constitution Club, New Delhi. The report=20
will be simultaneously available at several web sites internationally.
This is a very important investigative report which would interest=20
most of you. So look out for the report, More details follow in the=20
next 24 hours

>From the 20th Nov. on in case you want to use the report/ read it/=20
help them put it on more websites, help with press write -ups please=20
write to : <mailto:idrf_fx_report@y...>idrf_fx_report@y...

__________________________

#1. Pakistan: History, Ideology and Curriculum (Mubarak Ali)
#2. India: Blowing up the past (Amulya Ganguli)
#3. India: To Hell With History (John Dayal)

__________________________

#1.

Economic and Political Weekly
November 2-9, 2002
Special Article

History, Ideology and Curriculum

The many political crises that Pakistan has experienced since it came=20
into existence has had=A0an impact on history writing in the nation.=20
Imperatives of political centralisation are=A0reflected in mainstream=20
history writing's attempts to homogenise culture,=20
traditions,=A0the=A0religious and social life of its people.

Mubarak Ali

To control the past is to master the present, to legitimise dominion=20
and justify legal claims. It is the dominant powers =AD states,=20
churches, political parties, private interests =AD which own or finance=20
the media or means of production, whether it be school books or strip=20
cartoons, films, or television programmes.1

In the past, rulers and aristocrats used history to glorify their=20
achievements as saviours and benefactors. In the modern period,=20
political leaders use it to assert their authority and domination and=20
legitimise their status as rulers. In the newly independent=20
countries, particularly, leaders reconstruct history to suit their=20
agenda in the changing political situation.

After decolonisation, a new generation of political leaders, who had=20
struggled for freedom and assumed the status of freedom fighters,=20
claimed to rule the newly independent countries. As rulers they were=20
in need to legitimise their claims. This is why the concepts of the=20
=8Cfreedom struggle=B9 and =8Cwar of liberation=B9 emerged with great lustr=
e=20
and romance. Sacrifices of these leaders have become dominant themes=20
in recent history writing. In India and Pakistan, the role of these=20
freedom fighters is highly eulogised in order to give them the right=20
to rule the new nations. Interestingly, the British historians=20
describe the freedom struggle as a =8Ctransfer of power=B9, implying that=20
the change that took place was a voluntary surrender of power and not=20
as a result of struggle. These two interpretations reflect two=20
antithetical approaches to history.

Like most of the newly independent countries, Pakistan also had=20
problems about how to reconstruct its history in order to legitimise=20
its creation. It faced two problems: how to treat the colonial=20
period, and how to justify partition. Most of the colonised countries=20
have been sensitive about their colonial periods, which marked their=20
humiliation, surrender and defeat. Dealing with these periods=20
requires an acceptance of national and societal weaknesses in these=20
countries. Pakistan found an easy solution. It looked at the whole=20
period of colonisation as the Indian past because Pakistan had not=20
existed at that time. It left it to the Indian historians to deal=20
with the colonial period. However, the Pakistani historians had to=20
grapple with a number of complicated and complex issues on the=20
partition of India. While handling these, they kept in their minds=20
the interests of the ruling classes.

In Pakistan, historiography has developed under the framework of=20
the=A0=8CPakistan Ideology=B9, which is based on the idea of a separate=20
Muslim nationhood and justifies the partition of India. The Pakistani=20
historians are told from the very beginning to construct their=20
history within this framework. It is well understood that whenever=20
history is written under the influence of an ideology, its=20
objectivity is sacrificed. Facts are manipulated in order to justify=20
the political acts of leadership. Eric Hobsbawm has said:=20
=B3Nationalist historians have =AD often been =AD servants of=20
ideologists=B2.2 He observed: =B3History as inspiration and ideology has=20
a built-in tendency to become a self-justifying myth. Nothing is a=20
more dangerous blindfold than this, as the history of modern nations=20
and nationalism demonstrates=B2.3

In power politics, an ideologically based historiography provides=20
legitimacy to the political leadership. Michael W Apple poses the=20
question: What does ideology do for the people who have it? He writes=20
that it =B3distorts one=B9s picture of social reality and serves the=20
interest of the dominant classes in the society=B2.4

Pakistani historians also face the problem of how to deal with the=20
ancient past. Islam came to the Indian subcontinent in the 8th=20
century. On the basis of the two-nation theory, the ancient Indian=20
past does not belong to the new country. A teacher and a=20
Jamat-i-Islami member, Asadullah Bhutto, once gave a press statement=20
that Mohenjo Daro and other such archaeological remains should be=20
bulldozed as they do not belong to Islam. Turning their attention to=20
the early Islamic past, the historians seek an Islamic link with the=20
Arab conquest of Sindh, known in history textbooks as =B3the door of=20
Islam=B2 (=8Cbab al-Islam=B9). According to them, the conquest of Sindh=20
made the Indian Muslims a part of the Arab empire. This makes them=20
more enchanted with the glories of Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, and=20
Cordoba than with the Indian counterparts of Delhi, Agra or=20
Fathepursikri. They also trace central Asian links. A reputed=20
Pakistani archaeologist and historian, A H Dani, has said that=20
Pakistan has closer and stronger cultural links with central Asia=20
than with India.

How one treats medieval Indian history is also problematic. During=20
this period, Muslim dynasties ruled over India but the centre of=20
power was situated in India and not in the area that constituted the=20
new country of Pakistan. Though the period is reconstructed under the=20
title of History of Pak-Hind, there are some fundamentalists who=20
totally reject the rule of the Muslim dynasties as being un-Islamic=20
on the grounds that the Muslim rulers preferred to rule on the basis=20
of secularism and did not establish an Islamic state. They inducted=20
the Hindus in their administration and weakened the Islamic character=20
of the state. These historians also condemn all attempts that led to=20
the development of a composite culture. I H Qureshi, a leading=20
historian, criticised the policy of cooperation with Hindus that was=20
enunciated by Mughal rulers, especially Akbar, who included Hindus as=20
partners and treated them equally.

Qureshi has argued: =B3And in the final analysis, if the Muslims were=20
to forget their uniqueness and come to absorb as Akbar did,=20
contradictory tendencies and beliefs from other religions, could the=20
Muslim nation continue to exist as a separate nation? Akbar=B9s=20
policies created danger not only for the Muslim empire but also for=20
the continued existence of the Muslim nation in the sub-continent=B2.5=20
Akbar is much maligned in the Pakistani historiography and is=20
completely omitted from the school textbooks.6

Recently in an article entitled =B3At Last the Fall Became our=20
Destiny=B2, a Jamat-i-Islami intellectual wrote: =B3After Muhammad bin=20
Qasim, all conquerors invaded India for plunder and not for (the)=20
propagation of Islam. They had no desire and passion for holy war.=20
Some of them conquered territories after shedding Muslim blood and=20
assumed the royalty that was similar to the Romans and the Persian=20
rulers.=B27 He condemned them for emulating the practices of the=20
non-Muslim kings. =B3They built palaces and castles for their luxurious=20
living and personal protection, kept slave girls for their sexual=20
satisfaction, and recruited eunuchs to watch the conduct of their=20
women. Following the traditions of the Pharaohs, they even built=20
tombs for their queens.=B28

He said that the reason for the downfall of the Muslim rule in India=20
was the attempt to create a composite culture. When Akbar and other=20
Mughal rulers adopted the policy of marrying Hindu women, the process=20
of polluting the Muslim culture began, which ultimately led to the=20
disintegration of the Mughal empire. He wrote: =B3When the Mughal=20
rulers married Hindu women and allowed them to keep their religion=20
and worship according to their religion, it was disaster. As a result=20
of these marriages, Mughal rulers were born from Hindu mothers.=B29=20
Medieval Indian history is not regarded as a part of the Pakistani=20
historiography because the Hindus and the Muslims both shared it. The=20
culture that was produced by both is looked upon as a denial of=20
Muslim separateness.

Problems Posed by Recent History

In dealing with the recent history of the freedom struggle, the=20
emphasis has shifted from the freedom struggle to the =B3struggle for=20
Pakistan=B2. The Congress, dominated by Hindus, is considered to be the=20
main adversary because it did not recognise the Muslim community as a=20
separate one and opposed partition. This approach makes the Hindus=20
more hostile to the Muslims, than the British. Therefore, the=20
creation of Pakistan is regarded as a victory against the Hindus and=20
not against the British.

The reconstruction of the regional histories poses another problem.=20
How does one adjust them in the ideological framework? In the case of=20
Punjab, its Sikh period is rejected and downgraded as the =8CSikha=20
Shahi=B9, which is synonymous with anarchy and disorder. The wars of=20
the Sikhs, which were fought against the British, have no place in=20
the history textbooks. On the other hand, the British conquest of=20
Punjab is hailed as a blessing for the people of Punjab because it=20
delivered them from Sikh rule.

The British ignominiously defeated the Talpur Mirs, the rulers of=20
Sindh, in 1843. To minimise the humiliation of the defeat, historians=20
attempt to glorify some individuals who fought bravely against the=20
British. Sindh is given credit because its legislative assembly was=20
the first to vote for joining Pakistan. The North West Frontier=20
Province is remembered for its resistance to colonial rule but the=20
allegiance of its political leadership to the Congress is condemned.=20
The political leadership and not the people are blamed. On=20
Baluchistan, the resistance of the Kalat state not to accede to=20
Pakistan is not mentioned in the schoolbooks.

Pakistani historiography tries to homogenise the culture, traditions,=20
and social and religious life of the people. This suits the political=20
attempts towards centralisation. Any attempt to assert the historical=20
identity of a region is discouraged and condemned. This also affects=20
the non-Muslim religious minorities, who are also excluded from the=20
mainstream of history.

Pakistan has passed through a number of political crises. It has=20
experienced military dictatorships, corruption of feudal democracy,=20
the separation of East Pakistan, the rise of fundamentalism and ups=20
and downs in relations with India. History textbooks became the=20
victim. History as a subject was discontinued in 1961 and was=20
incorporated into the textbooks on social science.

Textbook writers are allowed to select only those portions of=20
history, which suit the ruling party in power. Michael W Apple=20
observes: =B3Selectivity is the point; the way in which from a whole=20
possible area of past and present, certain meanings and practices are=20
chosen for emphasis, certain other meanings and practices are=20
neglected and excluded. Even more crucially, some of these meanings=20
are reinterpreted, diluted, or put into forms which support or at=20
least do not contradict other elements within the effective dominant=20
culture.=B210

When there is democracy, the army rule is blamed for all existing=20
problems. When the army comes to power, it accuses politicians and=20
democracy for causing disorder and corruption. Even when there is a=20
democratic change, the past government is condemned for political and=20
economic problems. As George Orwell said: =B3All history is a=20
palimpsest scraped clean and reinscribed, exactly as often as is=20
necessary. The past is written in the light of the present=20
requirements of the authoritarian government.=B211

The disjointed and selected version of history fails to create any=20
historical consciousness among students and the general public. When=20
full facts of historical processes are not recorded, it reduces the=20
power of analysis and society is condemned to repeat its history=20
again and again.

Address for correspondence: lena@b...

Notes

1 Marc Ferro, The Use and Abuse of History, Routledge and Kegan=20
Paul, London, 1984, p=A0vii.
2 Eric Hobsbawm , On History, Abacus, London, 1999, p 35.
3 Ibid, p 47.
4 Michael W Apple, Ideology and Curriculum, Routledge and Kegan=20
Paul, London, 1980, pp=A020, 21.
5 I H Qureshi, The Muslim Community of the Indian Sub-Continent, 1962, p =
167.
6 Mubarak Ali, History on Trial, Lahore, 1999, pp 76-82.
7 Zahid Ali Wasti, =8CAnd the Fall became a Destiny=B9, ( Urdu article)=20
in Awaz, No 9, October-December 1999, pp 247, 248.
8 Ibid, p 248.
9 Ibid, pp 250-57.
10 Apple, p 6.
11 George Orwell, Selected Writings, Heinmann Educational Books,=20
London 1976, p 165.

______

#2.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_104196,00120001.htm
The Hindustan Times
November 18, 2002 | Updated: 00:00 IST
Editorial

Blowing up the past
Amulya Ganguli
November 17

Omission and simplification... help us, in many cases, to understand=20
the wrong thing; for our comprehension may be only of the=20
abbreviator=B9s neatly formulated notions, not of the vast ramifying=20
reality from which these notions have been so arbitrarily abstracted.
=8B Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited

Murli Manohar Joshi may get caught in his own trap. He started out=20
with a simple objective. To replace the existing version of Indian=20
history with the one favoured by the RSS. In doing so, he was not=20
bothered about objectivity or truthfulness. This purported student of=20
science was going to turn history on its head, showing that the time=20
he spent in a college or university has been a waste so far as=20
respect for scholastic knowledge and academic discipline is concerned.

Joshi already had a model to emulate. For years, the schools run by=20
the RSS have been teaching a load of rubbish to their students. Among=20
the gems that are taught is that the =8Clamp of culture=B9 in China was=20
lit by Indians, that India was partitioned because of the=20
=8Cconspiratorial=B9 policies pursued by the followers of Christianity=20
and that =B3even today, Christian missionaries are engaged in fostering=20
anti-national tendencies=B2 in the North-east and other parts of the=20
country. Not surprisingly, the students are also informed that the=20
RSS has arisen to defend the greatness of Bharatiya sanskriti.

Nor is this all. Books published by the RSS claim that Indians=20
discovered America because there are images of Indian art in the=20
Aztec temples, that the theory of Pythagoras finds mention in ancient=20
Indian texts, that houses coated with cow dung can withstand atomic=20
radiation and that the =B3concept of binary numbers used by=20
computers... existed in the Hindu scriptures=B2. How? Because =B3a number=20
in the binary format is either 1 (it exists) or 0 (it does not=20
exist). All numbers are combinations of 1 and 0. Our Upanishads say=20
that all creation is a combination of existence (1) or non-existence=20
(0)=B2.

Anyone who has been to a school or college will realise that all=20
these statements are nothing but fatuous assertions. Not a shred of=20
evidence is provided for any of these claims including, for instance,=20
in the reply to the question in the misnamed Vidya Bharati textbooks:=20
how many devotees of Ram laid down their lives to liberate the Ram=20
temple from 1528 to 1914? The answer in the book is 350,000.

It takes no great insight to realise that the purpose behind=20
propagating all this balderdash is purely political =8B just as the=20
purpose behind the demolition of the Babri masjid was political=20
rather than religious, as Sushma Swaraj once inadvertently admitted.=20
It follows, therefore, that those engaged in peddling nonsense and=20
mutilating textbooks are not genuine academics but kar sevaks running=20
amok in the educational sphere.

Under their aegis, more such rubbish have now found place in the=20
NCERT textbooks. Among these are the clubbing of the Harappan=20
civilisation with the Vedic age and extolling sati with reference to=20
the deeds of =B3virtuous=B2 women who immolate themselves on the funeral=20
pyres of their husbands. The students are also informed that the BJP=20
=B3unfortunately=B2 couldn=B9t prove its majority in the Lok Sabha in 1996.=
=20
They were not to be told of Gandhiji=B9s assassination presumably=20
because he was killed by a Hindu fanatic who had an RSS background.=20
But this =8Comission=B9 has now been rectified after protests.

So far, so bad. A major reason why such biased and ignorant people=20
have been allowed free play is that the Hindutva camp has always been=20
short of reputed scholars in any field. The comment of the noted=20
economist, Jagdish Bhagwati, after an encounter with a saffron=20
stalwart that if the latter claims to be an =8Ceconomist=B9, then =B3I am a=
=20
Kathak dancer=B2 is relevant in this context.

The difficulty is that once an unprofessional group is allowed to=20
wreak havoc in a particular discipline =8B history, in this case =8B=20
there are certain unexpected consequences. One of these has now come=20
to the fore. When Joshi decided that mere distortions and the=20
peddling of rubbish were not enough and that certain passages had to=20
be deleted, he may have started cutting the branch on which he is=20
perched.

Before examining this point, it is necessary to point out that anyone=20
who thinks of deleting passages from any book =8B whether history or=20
literature or science =8B is evidently oblivious of the value of=20
knowledge. If such demented norms are followed, then no work of art=20
or theory of science will pass muster. It will be a return to the=20
medieval ages when Copernicus did not dare to publish his=20
heliocentric theory till he was on his deathbed or a replication of=20
the conditions in theocratic Islamic countries where pages of books=20
showing a picture of, say, Michelangelo=B9s David are torn out because=20
of the statue=B9s nakedness.

So, when Joshi tears out pages of history books at the behest of some=20
pressure group or other, he is displaying the same mindset which the=20
Taliban showed when it destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas. However, if his=20
outrages have not caused as much shock as might have been expected,=20
it is presumably because of a general bewilderment and even amusement=20
over his antics. Besides, since the BJP=B9s tenure is regarded as a=20
temporary aberration in Indian politics, there is probably an=20
expectation that it will not be long before these silly steps are=20
rectified.

In addition, there may be a feeling that Joshi is gradually painting=20
himself into a corner. For instance, he apparently does not realise=20
the implications of his latest absurdity that the religious leaders=20
of all communities will be consulted about the contents of history.=20
If the passages on beef-eating and the caste system can be cut out=20
since they offend the sensibilities of Brahmins, what of the passages=20
about Muslim atrocities in medieval India?

What if a Muslim group complains that not only these hurt their=20
sentiments but also arouse the animus of the other communities=20
against them for the sins of their forefathers? After all, L.M.=20
Singhvi argued on behalf of the saffron camp that the Constitution=20
does not allow anyone=B9s sentiments to be hurt. Therefore, how will=20
Joshi justify their retention?

It would have been better for Joshi to have stuck only to distortions=20
and the propagation of rubbish. That task can be done by a closed=20
group in the NCERT, UGC and elsewhere. But the relative ease with=20
which he could introduce these changes must have emboldened him so=20
much that he thought of consulting various groups claiming to be=20
speaking on behalf of certain communities.

In the long run, Joshi=B9s rampages will be remembered not for any=20
damage it may cause to the educational system (it won=B9t, for which=20
rational person will believe that astrology is a science?), but for=20
the weirdness of his party=B9s and the Sangh parivar=B9s world-view. The=20
wonder in later years will be that such bizarre characters ever rose=20
to a position to pose a threat to academic sanity.

_____

#3.

[ on NCERT text books in India]

o o o

To Hell With History

Its curriculum, derided by India=B9s academia, was upheld by the=20
Supreme Court on technical points. And now at last, NCERT showcases=20
the books based on the curricula, tomes which unfold the History the=20
Bharatiya Janata Party government wants children to study =AD a mix of=20
mythology and the ideology that the Sangh Parivar otherwise teaches=20
in its own Vidyalayas.

John Dayal

[15 nov 2002]

It must be the most important italics in India=B9s Human resource=20
development. In a tome that has little concern for grammar and=20
spellings, it is the only italics in the textbook =B3India and the=20
World =AD Social Sciences Textbook for Class VI=B2 published by the=20
national Council for educational Research and Training and put in the=20
market within days of the Supreme court upholding the so called=20
national Curricula that the NCERT had evolved to give an Indian root=20
to the teaching of history and culture even geography, in schools in=20
the country.

=B3Hinduism is a very (italics in the book) old religion. It is also=20
known as Sanatana Dharma i.e. the Eternal Spiritual Tradition of=20
India, says Chapter 17, which marks the beginning of the segment,=20
which introduces the students to the major religions of the world.

The Supreme Court had in its historic decision on the NCERT curricula=20
held that teaching of religions was good, and was not the same as=20
teaching religion, which could be done by religious minorities in=20
their own schools but was not in the purview of schools run by a=20
secular state.=B3Was the Supreme Court too hasty in accepting the=20
argument that there is a difference between teaching about different=20
religions and religious education. Deliberate omissions in the texts=20
is hardly going to bring up a well informed generation ready to face=20
the challenges of the 21st century, pointed out Viren Lobo of Udaipur=20
in a letter to the Editor of the Frontline magazine earlier this year=20
when the controversy as at its peak. Instead of trying to bring to=20
life, the culture and customs of different periods, NCERT in to brush=20
over key differences between the culture of different eras. It then=20
takes recourse to a pseudo discourse on values. Real values can be=20
learnt by a scientific outlook to the problems of life and a proper=20
analysis of history.=B2

DD Kosambi in his book The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India=20
in Historical Outline said, " The religions themselves do not=20
constitute history, but their rise and change of function is=20
excellent historical material, Indian society seemed to develop more=20
by successive religious transformations than by violence; it failed=20
to develop further for much the same reason, even when considerable=20
violence was superimposed later on. Most of the surviving ancient=20
documents are overwhelmingly religious and ritualistic. The writers=20
were not concerned with history or with reality. Trying to extract=20
history from them without some previous knowledge of the actual=20
structure of Indian society at the time of writing gives either no=20
results or the ludicrous conclusions that may be read in most=20
histories of India."

Many months ago, in her cover story, Imparting prejudice, Frontline=B9s=20
TK Rajalakshmi said prophetically =B3By introducing a new history=20
syllabus that glorifies ancient India and de-emphasises the medieval=20
period, the NCERT continues to promote the political project of the=20
current establishment. The Human Resource Development Ministry's,=20
zeal to purge material written by Left Historians began ostensibly as=20
a mission to reduce the curricular load on students gradually became=20
an attempt to cut drastically the history component of the social=20
sciences. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education had=20
highlighted the need to trim the history syllabus and make it=20
relevant and less burdensome. Critics of the move said that the=20
overall purpose of the restructuring of curriculum was not to instill=20
a spirit of critical inquiry in pupils but to correct perceived=20
imbalances in the textbooks and create a nation of mindless patriots=20
in the name of "pride and love for the country". The constant=20
evocation of India's tradition and "spiritual quest" was seen not as=20
an indication of any special soul-searching but as one of attempts by=20
obscurantist elements to take control of the school education system.

NCERT said that the revised history syllabus for the higher secondary=20
stage had struck a regional balance by giving adequate importance to=20
the northeastern and southern regions and the small kingdoms. The=20
social science syllabi, NCERT said, aimed at developing a sense of=20
citizenship among pupils.

Syllabi ultimately become books.

At long last, this week I was able to purchase a copy each of the=20
Class VI book and one for Class IX called Contemporary India. The=20
others were not available at the major bookshops that specialise in=20
textbooks. The reality was worse than what had been anticipated in=20
the debates and the discussions. Reading through them it was easy to=20
discern how inclusion and exclusion, italicizing and ignoring=20
reality, the text books in a =B3catch =8Cem young=B2 strategy seek to=20
brainwash keen intellects into zombies who would be fit fodder for=20
the suicide squads of the Hindutva forces enunciated by Chhatrapati=20
Bala saheb Thakrey of Mumbai, and condoned by Second Sardar Lal=20
Krishan Advani in New Delhi.

Will the students know anything about any other religion unless it is=20
through the colored glasses of the NCERT? Will he ever discover that=20
Christianity came to India from the first to the fourth century AD,=20
giving birth to the St Thomas or Syrian Christians whose Indian roots=20
even RSS supreme Kupahalli Sudershan praised when he wanted to force=20
them into a dialogue with him to quell the global protest against=20
anti-Christian violence?

Let me quote in full all that the book has to say on Christianity, a=20
total of 268 words in five brief paragraphs at the virtual close of=20
the book.

It is safe reading, nothing to raise the hackles of Christian=20
fundamentalists or scholars, until seen in context., and seen in what=20
the words do not say.

But the words first:

=B3Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, a=20
Jew in ancient Palestine. Jesus Christ is believed to be the Son of=20
God. The Cross is the most sacred symbol of Christianity. The Holy=20
book of Christians is known as the Bible. Jesus was born in=20
Bethlehem, near Jerusalem around 6 . B.C. His birth is celebrated as=20
Christmas. His mother=B9s name was Mary. Jesus spent the first thirty=20
years of his life as a carpenter in Nazareth near Bethlehem. Then he=20
started preaching and gathered a small following. He emphasised in=20
one God and gave supreme importance to love, brotherhood and=20
compassion. He performed various miracles such as raising dead,=20
casting out devils, healing the sick, calming the winds and waves=20
etc. many people did not agree with the teachings of Christ an he was=20
crucified. Christians believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on=20
the third day. Christians believe the Trinity. They are God =AD The=20
father; God =AD the son, (Jesus Christ) who died to save mankind from=20
sin: and God =AD the Holy spirit who guides people=B9s thoughts and=20
actions. As early as the second century AD just two hundred years=20
after the establishment of Christianity, disagreements among the=20
Christians caused some groups to break away. Two sects clearly=20
emerged =AD Roman Catholics Church and eastern Orthodox Churches. In AD=20
1517 martin Luther, a monk and teacher, did not agree with certain=20
teachings of catholic church and established a separate order known=20
as protestants. Other sects also emerged who called themselves free=20
churches However it must be remembered that all sects accept the=20
basic tents of Christianity as preached by Jesus Christ.=B2

Anything about the Bible, the New testament, the Disciples? The=20
Beatitudes. Just one Parable perhaps of the Good Samaritan? The Ten=20
Commandments of the Old testament? The journeys of Peter and Paul,=20
and the journeys of Thomas to India. The religion is mentioned as if=20
in passing, a foot note in a book otherwise devoted to an=20
Indo-centric universe.

Other religions =AD Islam is to be covered in the book for Class VII =AD=20
fare little better. Buddhism and Jainism pas muster as derivatives of=20
Hinduism, a continuation of the very ancient religion, not as major=20
philosophical challenges to the Brahmanical overdrive of the latter.

Historians called by a parliamentary committee this week to depose on=20
these issues were barred because of objections by the BJP members=20
from coming, and the meeting themselves eventually postponed. Let me=20
quote noted historian K M Shrimali writing in the Hindustan Times and=20
earlier quoted on Thinkersnet says =B3Chapter No. 17 exclusively=20
devoted to =8Cmajor religions=B9 is a eulogistic narrative of monolithic=20
unchanging =8CHinduism=B9 throughout its existence of more than six=20
millennia =8B from the Harappan civilisation (questionably ascribing=20
its beginning in 4600 BC) to Tulsi, Meera Bai and Kabir (16th=20
century). The transmigration of soul, belief in three supreme gods=20
(Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha), =8Cgreat stress on varnashrama dharma=B9=20
and the =8Cdoctrine of bhakti=B9 apparently have been the features of=20
=8CHinduism=B9 all through and all across the subcontinent. Has the=20
author identified traces of all these features in the religious=20
beliefs and practices of the people of the Harappan Civilisation?

=B3That the people of the Harappan civilisation worshipped =8Cmother=20
goddess=B9, =8CShiva Pashupati=B9 and =8CShiva-lingas=B9 is a thoroughly=20
outdated point of view dating back to the Thirties. It has been=20
incessantly questioned since then. But such alternative=20
constructions do not suit the interests of =8Cglorious Hinduism=B9. The=20
lesson is: never mind invoking a colonialist paradigm if it serves=20
the purpose of =8Ccultural nationalism=B9 (read =8CHindu nationalism=B9).=
=20
=B3In Hinduism, philosophy has always occupied a very high position=8A=20
The Upanishads are the greatest works of philosophy in the history of=20
humankind.=B2 This reminds us of Albiruni=B9s (10th/11th century)=20
observation about the haughtiness and arrogance of the Hindus. Is=20
there any religious system which does not rest on any =8Chigh=B9=20
philosophic basis? Similarly, the contention that =B3Hinduism also=20
lays emphasis on ethics=B2 is a rather crude formulation to denigrate=20
other religions. To give just one example, the complete absence of=20
any reference to sila (right conduct) as one of the three components=20
of the Buddha=B9s =8CEightfold Path=B9 (regrettably Sanskritised as=20
=8CAshtangika Marga=B9 instead of mentioning it in its original Pali=20
form, viz. =8Catthangika magga=B9) is an indicator of hidden contempt=20
for religions other than =8CHinduism=B9. One would like to know again,=20
which religion of the world does not preach the need of high ethics=20
and morality? That all religions of the world, including =8CHinduism=B9,=20
have shown remarkable dichotomy between theory and practice is a=20
separate issue. I wish students were exposed to such aspects as=20
well. Alas! Turning children at the threshold of their teens into=20
rational thinking beings is clearly not the credo of the NCERT.=20
=B3About Hinduism laying great stress on varnashram dharma, we do not=20
read anything about varna (social order). On ashrams, however, we are=20
told that =B3these four stages of life were meant to be followed by all=20
individuals, irrespective of their caste creed and belief=B2. Oh=20
really? Did the shudras have an access to Vedic learning? Could they=20
adorn themselves with the sacred thread (yagyopavita)? Didn=B9t the=20
great Adi Shankaracharya prohibit shudras from acquiring the=20
ultimate knowledge (param brahma)? =B3Following the philosophical=20
tradition of the Upanishads and six philosophies in Hinduism, quest=20
for salvation through knowledge continued. This gave rise to Jainism=20
and Buddhism.=B2 This is preposterous, to say the least. The underlying=20
assumption is that all Upanishads are pre-Buddha or pre-Mahavira,=20
which is just not true. More importantly, far from being products of=20
Upanishadic and six =8CHindu=B9 philosophies, both Buddhism and Jainism=20
were questioning fundamental assumptions of these streams of=20
knowledge. While eternalism of brahman and atman constituted the=20
cornerstone of the Upanishads, the Buddha was an exponent of=20
=8Cimpermanence=B9, =8Cinsubstantiality=B9 and =8Cconstant change=B9. Simil=
arly,=20
one of the most distinguishing contributions of the Jains to the=20
history of Indian philosophy is the exposition of the =8Crelativity of=20
Truth=B9 which struck at the roots of Vedic dogmatism. Sadly, such=20
distinctive rationalism of non-Hindu religions finds no place in=20
this textbook.=B2

As a Christian, I was mildly amused at the great references made to=20
divisions among the Faithful. And although there was a safety clause=20
that all sects still believed in the teachings of Jesus Christ, did I=20
smell somewhere a certain hidden laughter, a certain scorn at a faith=20
so divided? Must be because there was no mention of the Dalits, none=20
of the reform movements in the Great Indian native Religion, no=20
mention of the fact that Buddhism eventually vanished from its mother=20
land.

The illiteracy and cant of the Class VI text book led to the=20
criminality of the Class XI book. This text, to be perhaps discussed=20
in detail in a future issue on its own, is living proof of the=20
bigotry, dishonest and anti-Islamic =AD and anti Catholic,=20
anti-Christian -- super structure of the NCERT=B9s current world view=20
and the objective of its curricula.. The First page of Chapter I=20
(World : Some developments) begins with a caustic commentary on Papal=20
Bulls which led Columbus and Vasco De Gama to set sail in a=20
conspiracy of Catholcising the universe. The NCERT authors,=20
illiterate in grammar and syntax, again go into overdrive ( a la=20
Ashok Chaugule, NS Rajaram and that catholic convert Fran=E7ois Gautier=20
and other Sangh writers) into a demonisation process that would do=20
credit to VHP=B9s Togadia or Gujarat chief minister Modi.

With painstaking detail, they dwell on the anti-Indian motive of the=20
Muslims forming their own Muslim league, the Khilafat movement, the=20
Moplah revolt =8A all the way to the Partition, but no mention of the=20
RSS.

They could not avoid mention of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

But who killed him?

The Students of Class XI will never know who killed Mahatma Gandhi.

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