A significant outrage has erupted on social media after Unacademy, a popular online education platform, referred to the historic Martand Sun Temple as “Shaitan ki Gufa” (Devil’s Cave) in one of its lessons.
“The Martand Sun Temple, also called Shaitan ki Gufa, is a Hindu shrine located within Jammu and Kashmir, India, just near the city area of Anantnag. It was built in the 8th century AD and was dedicated to Surya, Hinduism’s principal sun god; Surya is also recognized through his Sanskrit name Martand. Upon command of the former Muslim emperor of Kashmir, Sikandar Shah Miri, this temple was demolished by the army of the Shah Miri empire throughout the 15th century,” Unacademy’s lesson on the history of Martand Sun Temple read.
On 22nd July, several social media users shared the screengrab of this contentious Unacademy lesson and questioned who is writing content for their study material. Several X users asked if Unacademy is taking script lessons from Bollywood.
An X user Anuradha Goyal asked, “Seriously @unacademy, Is Martand Sun Temple called Shaitan Ki Gufa or are you taking lessons from Bollywood fiction?
Seriously @unacademy , Is Martand Sun Temple called Shaitan Ki Gufa or are you taking lessons from Bollywood fiction? pic.twitter.com/BzlG5OD6xT
— Anuradha Goyal (@anuradhagoyal) July 22, 2024
Renowned author and historian Vikram Sampath deemed Unacademy’s distortion of history as “shameful” and asked if Bollywood script writers are creating content for the ed-tech platform.
“This is terrible @unacademy that you term the Martand Sun Temple as “shaitan ki gufa” ! Who’s creating your educational content — Bollywood script writers ?? Shameful,” Sampat asked.
This is terrible @unacademy that you term the Martand Sun Temple as "shaitan ki gufa" ! Who's creating your educational content — Bollywood script writers ?? Shameful. https://t.co/1VJi7wMXVu
— Dr. Vikram Sampath, FRHistS (@vikramsampath) July 22, 2024
“Jan ki Baat” founder and journalist Pradip Bhandari asked Unacademy to remove the “offensive” content from its website. “Martand Sun Temple is not “Shaitan Ki Gufa” @unacademy! Change it. This is offensive to the Hindu community,” Bhandari posted.
Martand Sun Temple is not "Shaitan Ki Gufa" @unacademy!
— Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी)🇮🇳 (@pradip103) July 22, 2024
Change it. This is offensive to the Hindu community. pic.twitter.com/mbHKxbEH6X
Amidst a heavy backlash from social media users, the ed-tech platform edited its lesson on the Hindu temple and removed “Shaitan ki Gufa” from it. However, Unacademy has not issued an apology for distorting history and normalising the demonisation of a historic Hindu temple destroyed by Islamic fanatics.
Martand Sun Temple in Kashmir and Sikandar ‘Butshikan’
The Martand Sun Temple, located in Anantnag, Kashmir, is a monumental representation of Hindu architecture and spirituality. Constructed in the 8th century by Lalitaditya Muktapida, the Martand Surya Mandir stands as a testament to ancient India’s architectural and cultural prowess. However, during the 14th century, Sikandar Shah Miri also known as Sikandar Butshikan [idol-breaker], notorious for his campaigns against Hindus demolished the temples belonging to Kafirs [infidels]. It is claimed that the Islamic fanatic called the ruins of the Martand Temple as ‘Shaitan ki Gufa’ (Devil’s cave), however, specific references to him using the term “Shaitan ki Gufa” are not well-documented in credible historical sources. It is said that Kashmiri Muslims refer to the Hindu temple as devil’s cave, and Bollywood, media and Islamists have over the years been making attempts to justify and normalise this blatant demeaning of Hindu temples.
In this vein, TimesNow had published a photo story last year wherein it claimed that Kashmiri Muslims refer to this Hindu temple as ‘Shaitan ki Gufa’.
Bollywood film ‘Haider’ referred to Martand Surya Mandir Martand as ‘Shaitan Ki Gufa’
Back in 2014, filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj drew widespread criticism for slandering Hindu traditions in his film ‘Haider’. In this Shahid Kapoor starrer, the Surya Mandir was called Shaitan Ki Gufa in one of its songs ‘Bismil’ with Shahid dancing inside the Martand Sun Temple. This song earned huge praises for the director and actor, with people celebrating the mockery of Hindu sentiments in garb of ‘creative freedom’.
In April last year, OpIndia reported that Muslims had set off firecrackers inside the temple on Eid-ul-Fitr.
Unacademy and its past controversies
This is not the first time that Unacademy has offended Hindu sentiments, back in 2021, the ed-tech portal was found peddling a dangerously anti-Hindu narrative through its online test module. The test module insinuated that somehow Hindus are anti-Muslim bigots.
“In a city named X, a group of Muslim people were carrying out their rally on the occasion of Eid. They were chanting their slogans and were celebrating their festivals. When they were passing through the streets of a Hindu-dominated colony, the Hindus of the area started pelting stones at them and claimed that they outraged the religious feelings of Hindus. Is the claim correct?”, one of the questions in the test module read. This came despite it being widely known that Hindus have on numerous occasions been attacked with stones and other things by Islamists for celebrating their festivals and chanting their religious slogans in the so-called ‘Muslim areas’. However, in its attempt to push leftist propaganda, the ed-tech platform reversed religious identity to paint the aggressors as the victims.
After outrage, Unacademy issued an apology and blamed a third party for the ‘misrepresentation’.
In September 2020, Unacademy educator Varun Awasthi provoked students to pick up AK-47s in his online classes. Unacademy, had to distance itself from the contentious remarks made by Awasthi. Other than this, in the same year, an Unacademy tutor had gone on a rant against Brahmins. His video saying that “Brahmins are the most idle [Kaamchor] community”, went viral on social media triggering an outrage.
In August 2023, Unacademy educator Karan Sangwan courted controversy by asking students to vote for ‘educated politicians’. He also lauded the British colonizers for doing an excellent job by crafting the perfect statute and criticized the recently announced three new laws replacing IPC, CrPC, and the Evidence Act. Netizens had strongly criticised Sangwan for using an education platform to peddle political propaganda. Eventually, he was sacked by Unacademy.
Coming back to the ‘Shaitan ki Gufa’ row, Unacademy’s usage of this derogatory term is not just a factual error but an egregious attack on the Hindu community. It perpetuates a narrative that demonises Hindus and their heritage, echoing historical bigotry. Such outrageous misrepresentations in educational content are dangerous as they shape young minds and perpetuate false narratives against an already targeted Hindu community. While Unacademy has removed the offensive term from its content, this incident should serve as a wake-up call to address and rectify the bias and misinformation that pervades educational content.
The Martand Sun Temple is a revered site for Hindus, built in honour of the Sun God and labelling it with a derogatory term used by Islamists is profoundly disrespectful to the Hindu temple’s religious significance. Equating a sacred Hindu site with a “Devil’s Cave” implies a blasphemous comparison that demeans Hindu beliefs and discredits Hindu heritage. The term ‘Shaitan ki Gufa’ reflects the bigotry of Islamic invaders who sought to destroy Kafir Hindu’s culture and religion. Repeating it in contemporary contexts that too by ‘education’ platforms continues to propagate historical injustice and prejudice against Hindus.
