On April 7, India Today’s consulting editor and news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai was left dumbfounded when Managing Editor and anchor Gaurav Sawant gave him a befitting reply over his rant on Mughals.
History writing must be left to professional historians not politicians: @sardesairajdeep
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 7, 2023
Mughal history should never be erased from textbooks: @gauravcsawant
Full show: https://t.co/ypJOhvCOxl#DemocraticNewsroom | @ShivAroor pic.twitter.com/jIFc2G9S64
In his statement at a debate on removing Mughals from the textbook, Sardesai said that History writing must be left to professional historians and not politicians. He said, “The problem is the moment politics enters history, it gets poisonous. [It becomes] left versus right. You can’t erase the Mughals from our history. The Mughals represent part of India’s great pluralistic culture. How can you just eliminate them and only show them as villains?”
He further added that he was not suggesting to tell Akbar was the greatest leader but at least keep him in the textbooks. Let the youth learn about other leaders and historical figures. Sardesai claimed it was a political agenda to remove the Mughals, and it was on the lines of Pakistan that led a generation in neighbouring countries to hate India. “Is that what we want young Indians hating anything which is even remotely considered Muslim or Islam?” he added.
Replying to Sardesai, when Gaurav Sawant said, “I completely agree with Rajdeep Sardesai that Mughal history should never be erased from India’s textbooks”, for a second, there was a glare of happiness on Sardesai’s face, but it turned into shock in no time. Sawant added, “This country must know what Akbar was all about, that Babur was an invader in India. Babur was not from this land.”
He further spoke about how Akbar killed around 40,000 Hindus in the battle of Chittor and made his disciples count the Jeneus of Hindus to measure how many Hindus had been killed. “This is a history book not written by a politician but a historical account written by James Todd,” Sawant noted. He also pointed out how Akbar awarded Badauni, a Mughal historian, for saying he would soak his beard in the blood of infidel Hindus.
Sawant continued to talk about historical documentation of the history of the Mughals by Father Monserrete, who was a Portuguese Jesuit. Father Monserrete mentioned in his commentary on the journey in India that the religious zeal of Muslims had destroyed idols and Hindu temples.
When Sardesai tried to intervene, Sawant stopped him and talked about how Jahangir had the fifth Sikh Guru, Shri Guru Arjan Dev Singh, who compiled the Adi Granth, killed in 1606. He said, “Do you know how [he was] made to sit on a hot plate and killed?” Sardesai started whataboutery suggesting atrocities were done by Hindu kings, including Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. To which Sawant replied that by all means, students must be taught everything but “Please look at Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj entirety, and you will not find a better Hindu ruler in this country.”
Going further, Rajdeep expressed his frustration over the atrocities of the Mughals being discussed, “A history without any positive attributes and thereby by the mean in which Mughal history you clearly want to suggest that they had no contribution.” Irked by his comments, Sawant pointed out that if we want to talk about the truth and facts, it is essential to know how Mathura, Kashi and Ayodhya were destroyed because of the fact that they were the base of the civilisation that we come from. He emphasised the importance of learning about the roots of the Indian civilisation that lived in these ancient cities.
‘Hindu destroyed Buddhist temples’ claimed Rajdeep
During the discussion, Rajdeep claimed Hindu kings destroyed Buddhist temples. He questioned, “What about Buddhist temples destroyed by Hindu kings?” Twitter user TrueIndology listed how Hindu kings built Buddhist temples and challenged Sardesai to prove the contrary. He said, “Dear Rajdeep Sardesai, I CHALLENGE you to name three Hindu kings who destroyed Buddhist temples. Just three. Au contraire, I can give you the names of hundreds of Hindu kings who built Buddhist establishments. From their own authentic inscriptions and records.”
This myth of Hindu kings destroying Buddhist temples was planted by Marxist propagandists.
— True Indology (@TrueIndology) April 9, 2023
One of the names they frequently cite is Mihirakula. They claim that the Hindu (Huna) king Mihirakula destroyed Buddhist temples.
This myth is based on very late sources and sectarian… pic.twitter.com/rkvQLJoGZP
He further added, “Marxist propagandists planted this myth of Hindu kings destroying Buddhist temples. One of the names they frequently cite is Mihirakula. They claim that the Hindu (Huna) king Mihirakula destroyed Buddhist temples. This myth is based on very late sources and sectarian texts which were written centuries after the alleged events took place. It is repeated even today by propagandists. But this Mihirakula myth is BUSTED by a contemporary source, an eye witness and an inscription.”
He also talked about a copper scroll inscription that was discovered in Talaqan, Afghanistan that was issued by Hephthalite Huns of Mihirakula’s line. “It records the donation to a Buddhist stupa by these kings. Yet, completely disregarding the primary evidence, one propagandist after another repeated the myth that Hephthalites destroyed Buddhism in Gandhara,” Trueindology added.
Remarkably, a copper scroll inscription was discovered from Talaqan, Afghanistan.
— True Indology (@TrueIndology) April 9, 2023
This inscription was issued by Hephthalite Huns of Mihirakula’s line.
It records the donation to a Buddhist stupa by these kings.
Yet, completely disregarding the primary evidence, one… pic.twitter.com/WChEuUysNq
he pointed out how the so-called historian Romila Thapar was debunked over her claims that Pushyamitra Sunga destroyed 84,000 Buddhist monasteries. She had to take back the claims.
This Torana was donated to Bharhut Stupa by a Shunga vassal named Dhanabhuti.
— True Indology (@TrueIndology) April 9, 2023
Far from persecuting Buddhists, Shungas patronized Buddhist temples.
Disregarding this archaeological evidence, Shungas are accused of destroying Buddhist stupas.
The source of these propagandist… pic.twitter.com/jw4hpm3uXg
The ecosystem is still here to defend the Mughals
It is important to note that the ecosystem is here to defend the Mughals and becomes triggered by even false claims of removing the glorifying chapters from history books. Interestingly, Sardesai mentioned that he was listening to a podcast by William Dalrymple, which talked in detail about the contributions of Bahadur Shah Zafar in terms of culture. He went on to call Zafar a genius.
‘No big temples’
Sawant, towards the end of the discussion, pointed out that despite four major religions under Sanatan Dharma, that are Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism, originating from India, there are no big temples left. Notably, there are many in South India, but in North India, most temples were destroyed, and Islamic structures were built on them. Sita Ram Goel covered a list of such structures in his book “Hindu Temples – What Happened to Them“.
‘Mughal chapters not removed’, NCERT says media speculations are false
Several media reports had widely speculated that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) had amended its publications, notably the 12th-class History book, and removed certain chapters on the Mughal empire. After the rumour gained traction, the director of NCERT, Dinesh Prasad Saklani, addressed the issue and refuted the claims that various news outlets were spreading. He told ANI that the chapters on the Mughals had not been removed. He stated that only the overlapping chapters had been dropped, alleviating the additional strain on children’s shoulders.
