New Delhi: The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) has not launched any project to "rewrite Indian history" whereas it  is working on incorporating all key figures and incidents that are not part of history books, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on February 13.

The minister also said in front of the Lok Sabha that India respects all cultures, languages, and religious beliefs. "There is no project being undertaken by the ICHR to rewrite Indian history. The government has no desire to change the course of events. However, if you were to ask me if the ICHR had taken on any historical projects, I would respectfully and humbly inform this House that, yes, it has " he said.

The Union minister responded to a query during Question Hour by stating that by including significant historical events, figures, and situations, "We are enlarging history" and filling "gaps."  Pradhan said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Mangarh Dham, the site of the British slaughter of 1,500 tribal members who rebelled under Govind Guru's leadership in 1913.

In honour of the two sons of Guru Gobind Sahib who died as martyrs in the 17th century at the ages of six and nine, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, the Modi government has also chosen to mark "Veer Bal Diwas," the BJP MP added.

The minister questioned whether India should be aware of the Telugu revolutionary Alluri Sitarama Raju or the Odia revolutionary Baxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhara Mohapatra, both of whom had fought the British.

The Union minister informed the House that none of these are included in the present Indian history textbooks.
Not only this, the Minister said, for about 1,100-1,200 years, India was under foreign rule and if there is an analyse of those period, be it south or the north, be it the east or the west, there were many civilisations that worked for the glory, respect and upliftment of culture.

 "All of them ought to appear in the history books. Such voids are filled by the ICHR. History is not being changed by us. We are extending history by making a straightforward line. With the amount of work the ICHR is doing,"he said.
The minister said there are many views and opinions about civilisations but not much about their history. He said,  the central government's position on this issue is quite clear: India is a nation of various cultures.

"I would like to give an instance about the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam which was held about 2 months ago in Varanasi. The oldest language in the world is Tamil. This is our view. India is a country that respect all languages, all cultures and all faiths. This is what the central government believes. There is no need for need to create a debate over it," Pradhan said.

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