3 min readNew DelhiFeb 14, 2023 06:57 AM IST
First published on: Feb 14, 2023 at 05:05 AM IST
The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) has not launched any project to rewrite Indian history and it is only “filling gaps”, the government informed the Lok Sabha Monday.
In a written reply to a starred question from CPI member K Subbarayan, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “No, Sir. The ICHR, Delhi, has not launched any project to rewrite Indian history.”
Later, Congress member Manish Tewari, who asked a supplementary question, pointed out a “contradiction” between the Education Ministry and the ICHR. “It seems from the reply given by the minister that there is a contradiction… the ICHR is saying publicly, consistently, and repeatedly, that ‘we are rewriting the history. We are writing comprehensive history of India, which will be published in 12-13 volumes and of which the first volume will be released in March 2023. More than 100 historians are involved in that project’,” Tewari said.
“There are two different concepts. One is updating history, which is a respectable closure concept recognised the world over. The other is rewriting history by a very pernicious and a pretentious concept because this is a process of rediscovery of the current narrative by pinning it on certain historical moorings. In this method, anybody, who has tried to rewrite history from Bismarck onwards till Zia-ul-Haq has failed,” Tewari said.
“So, my question to the minister is, if the ICHR is not rewriting history, then what precisely are they doing? Would the minister enlighten this House exactly why there is a contradiction between what you are telling this House and what the ICHR is saying,” Tewari asked.
To this, Pradhan reiterated his written answer and said there is no plan to rewrite history. He, however, said the ICHR has taken an initiative (prakalp) on history. “This country has passed through subjugation in different periods during the last 1100-1200 years. If we analyse the country based on that time, then there are many kingdoms, which have contributed a lot to highlight the culture, civilisation and identity of the country… This should be part of history today,” Pradhan said.
He said the ICHR is “filling the gap”. “We are not rewriting. We are making the history comprehensive, drawing very simple lines… We are doing that much only. The ICHR is doing that much only. Nothing will come true by shouting.”
Stating that the PM had spoken on August 15, 2022, about erasing all symbols of subservience, BJP member Satya Pal Singh asked whether it is not required to rewrite (history) to erase all the symbols of subservience. To this, Pradhan said the government believes that India is a multicultural country. “India believes this and there is no need to tinker it,” he said.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Lok Sabha. (PTI) 
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