THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The situation is disheartening in North India as lynching continues in the name of caste and religion, said historian Rajmohan Gandhi. The grandson of Mahatma Gandhi was interacting with faculty members and students of the History Department at Kerala University at the curtain raiser event of the Kerala History Congress held on Karyavattom campus on Wednesday.
" Every week Dalits are subjected to lynching. It is very tragic and shameful. The government and police are keeping silent," Gandhi said. He said people are being killed on streets and police investigations are reaching nowhere. Gandhi was also keen on commenting about his biography on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel based on the present political situation. "Deliberate attempts are being made by the centre to dilute the contributions made by Jawaharlal Nehru and highlight the significance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. I have deeply researched Patel's life. It is obvious he had both strong points and weak points.
Though Patel and Nehru had many differences, they were not rivals. In fact Patel, who was then the Home Minister of the country, was deeply moved by Nehru's letter on the post-independent communal riots. Now, a huge statue only highlighting the importance of Patel has been erected. Nehru, Patel are great stalwarts who collectively made the country progress, which is specifically why there is no significance in making statues," he said.
Rajmohan Gandhi highlighted that Mahatma Gandhi was unpopular among the then Hindu right wing groups due to his affinity towards Muslims in the country. "He believed India belongs to all," he said. He also commented on Rahul Gandhi and Modi's politics and said they were both remarkable in their own ways.
Rajmohan's latest book 'Modern South India : A History from 17th century to our times' praised South India's movements against untouchability. He has cited the Temple Entry Proclamation held at Travancore.