Suspend ICHR panel for reviewing martyrs dictionary: CPI leader urges Education Minister
Sep 07, 2020
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], September 7 : Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Binoy Viswam on Monday urged Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal to intervene and suspend the three-member committee established by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) to review the entries in the 'Dictionary of Martyrs: India's Freedom Struggle 1857-1947."
In his letter to Pokhriyal, Viswam said that "Recent reports of the establishment of a three-member committee by the ICHR to review the entries in the 'Dictionary of Martyrs: India's Freedom Struggle 1857-1947" are worrying and an attempt to communalise Indian history."
In the letter, he urged to review entries regarding martyrs who lost their lives in the Wagon Tragedy and Malabar rebellion leaders Ali Musilyar and Variamkunnath Ahmd Haji.
"In a report submitted to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in 2016, attempts were made to portray these freedom fighters as "hardcore criminals" and perpetrators of communal violence against Hindus. This reading of history is deeply inaccurate and an attempt to communalise it for political gains. The Malabar rebellion has been recognised as an anti-colonial struggle that was an important chapter in India's freedom struggle. Vast scholarship exists that speaks to this history and its significance, " he said in the letter.
Further, he said, "The review committee established by the ICHR comprises the very persons who have submitted this initial report in 2016. They have openly identified themselves with a particular ideology and reading of history that in effect seeks to communalise and erode the history of India to serve their divisive agendas."
Rajya Sabha MP Viswam urged Nishank to "immediately intervene in this matter and suspend the review committee established by the ICHR".
"As Education Minister of India and a constitutional representative it is incumbent on you to prevent any attempts that seek to communalise our history and disturb the social fabric of the nation," he said.
