NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that “had Veer Savarkar not written the account of the 1857 mutiny, the truth would have remained hidden from later generations” and that “despite being crushed (by the British), they (the mutineers) achieved victory”.
Speaking at the launch of historian Umendra Ratnu’s provocatively titled book ‘Maharana: Sahastra Varshon Ka Dharmyudh’ (Maharana: A Thousand Year War for Dharma), Shah said that “many historians have written extensively on the Mughals but there has hardly been much work on the Ahoms, Pallavas, Chalukyas, Mauryas, Satavahanas or the Guptas although each of these dynasties ruled for hundreds of years”.
Identifying his reasons for attending the book launch programme, which was held at the NDMC Convention Centre, Shah said that he was moved by the “selfless sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of valiant people over a period of 800-900 years”. It was because of these “immortal spirits” that “Indian culture and religion has remained alive, flourished and even been victorious,” the home minister said.
Pointing out that he is a “student” of history and that he was schooled in history since his early childhood, Shah that Ahoms, the Marathas under Shivaji, the Guptas, Mauryas and the Rashtrakutas had “fought many valiant battles”, while adding that Rajput king Sawai Man Singh had “settled with Akbar” and it was for this reason that in some parts of Gujarat he is often referred to “Hawai Man Singh”.
Claiming that “many historians have made bit contributions to Indian history” and that in the past jhoot (lies) has been propagated, Shah gave the examples of Bappa Rawal and Rawal Ratan Singh who 500 years ago did not allow any foreign invasion” before referring to the battle of Haldighati which is now obscured by the “sands of time”.
But this book, Shah said, would banish “many wrong perception” of India’s “glorious past” and that “that history which is wrong will become scarce on its own. The home minister, however, added “it becomes problematic when governments write history”.
Asserting that the time has “now come to stand tall in all our glory” and that “jaagruti” (awakening) has happened after years”, Shah said “we all are watching that India’s culture and glory has been widely accepted”.