In a bid towards ‘reconstruction’ of Maharana Pratap’s image, the Union Ministry of Culture is organising a day-long conference in Jaipur on Friday.
The Culture Ministry, the Nehru Museum and Library and Department of History and Indian Culture, University of Rajasthan, are organising a special lecture and conference on ‘Maharana Pratap and his Times,’ as part of his 475th Birth Anniversary celebrations.
“There are several hidden sources of history on Maharana Pratap which have not been fully realised. Much of what we know has been obtained from Persian sources,” said Prof Krishna Gopal Sharma, head of the History and Culture Department at University of Rajasthan.
“So we need to vigorously go to these indigenous inscriptions and texts to reconstruct his image, so that we know more about him and his times,” he said. Sharma said that the conference assumes importance towards painting the “correct picture” of Maharana Pratap.
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Sharma will chair a special lecture by Prof G S L Devra, former Vice-Chancellor of Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota, on “Construction of ‘Mewar Legacy’: Maharana Pratap’s Conflict Against the Mughals.”
The armies of Akbar and Maharana Pratap had clashed in what is known as the Battle of Haldighati.
The sessions in the conference include, “Battle of Haldighati: A fresh appraisal”, “Haldighati to Diver: Maharana Pratap’s military strategy and policy”, “Maharana Pratap and His Contribution to the Nation”, among others.
Last year, in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said that while Mughal emperor Akbar was “great”, it was beyond understanding why someone would object to Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap being called the same, and had announced that the Union government has, for the first time, constituted a committee to celebrate Maharana Pratap’s 475th anniversary across the country.
Incidentally, on Wednesday, hashtag “Remove Mughals From Books” was among the top trends on Twitter in India.
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