E-Paper
Mamata questions ‘attempts to distort history’ as she targets Modi govt
Mamata Banerjee’s remarks are in context of several right-wing Hindu organisations trying to deify Nathuram Godse
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP-led Union government on Friday of attempting to distort Indian history.
Writing history is not the task of politicians, she said at the 78th Indian History Congress in Kolkata, where she indirectly blamed the Centre for twisting historical facts to suit the ruling party’s objectives.
“What I find strange is that some people are claiming that Mahatma Gandhi was not a patriot, but his assassin, Nathuram Godse, was a real patriot. This is simply unthinkable,” the chief minister said.
Her remarks are in context of several right-wing Hindu organisations trying to deify Godse. Several of these groups owe allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor.
“If the politicians start writing history, distortions are bound to happen since certain ideologies acceptable to some might not be acceptable to others. History should reveal the truth. Even if I make a mistake, history will reveal that,” she said.
Her comments came a day after Marxist historian Irfan Habib raised questions about growing attempts to distort and rewrite history.
“History depends on events and facts and any attempt to invent facts will be treated as fiction,” Habib said at a function in Kolkata.
The BJP-lead NDA and RSS has been at loggerheads with opposition parties over history lessons in schools and colleges. Sangh ideologues accuse “Left and liberal historians” of monopolising intellectual space in post-Independence India and deliberately ignoring key historical events and characters that didn’t fit their agenda.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, countered that the BJP and RSS were attempting to “rewrite and distort” Indian history to push their brand of Hindutva.
