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Yet another attempt by the Sangh Parivar to express their rabid intolerance in a fascist manner. This time it is the turn of the history of India, specifically the facts and events of the late thirties and forties leading towards freedom of our country. The publication of two volumes of "Towards Freedom" compiled by two eminent historians Prof. Sumit Sarkar and Prof. K.N. Panikkar regarding the incidents and informations about the last decade of India’s Struggle for independence has been stopped which is a part of a central government aided project to be implemented by Indian Council For Historical Research (ICHR). Undoubtedly it is a brazen attempt to impose cultural censorship through ICHR which is the premier institution of historical research because it is not only an effort to suppress the truth, also it is a deliberate step to manipulate history.

It is clear that the BJP-RSS combine, the leader of the present government of India is against those two volumes as the volumes are to reveal the historical findings completely unsuitable to the roles, views and ideology of Sangh Parivar. Already different sections of people have protested against this heinous move. Still there is no revision of decision to stop the effort of revising history.

ICHR: The Target

Full name is Indian Council For Historical Research. It is India’s premier institution of historical research. Country’s eminent and respected historians have picked up glory for ICHR through all these years. The list includes Irfan Habib, Romila Thapar, Ramsharan Sharma, Bipanchandra, Sumit Sarkar, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, K.N. Panikkar, Harbansh Mukhia, Satish Chandra, Sarbapalli Gopal, Parthasarathi Gupta and many more.

Under their supervision, so far the institution has successfully analysed and published the factually correct historical findings through papers and books. The picture begins to change as BJP grabs power at the centre. After forming government under the banner of an alliance of more than twenty parties, the leadership of BJP has taken initiatives to spread their Hindutva ideology with communal outlook using government machinery. No sector remains untouched, whether it is education or culture or defence or home affairs. The Indian Council For Historical Research is one of the institutions run by central government which has been first targeted by BJP and its mentor Rastriya Swayam Sebak Sangh (RSS) to serve their own purpose. As India is a vast country with secular credentials having unity in diversity, the history of the country has tremendous importance. Revision of history is the aim of the followers of Hidutva ideology to subvert the secular basis of India. To fulfil this aim, they have reconstituted ICHR. The secular minded historians like Romila Thapar have been excluded and pro-BJP (RSS) historians have got appointment in ICHR. B.B. Lal, B.R. Grover, K.S. Lal, B.P. Singh are those historians who have supported and tried to establish the idea regarding the existence of Ram Janambhoomi at Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid stood making distortion of history. Mr. Murli Monohar Joshi, the Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister of the BJP led government at the centre is one of the hardcore RSS activists. It is his diabolic interference to make sure the control over ICHR in an effort to rewrite the history of our country suitably amended in the interest of advancing the religious fanaticism of Hindu fundamentalist forces. "Towards Freedom", the compiled documents of our struggle for independence in several volumes is the victim of this interference.

No To "Towards Freedom"

ICHR planned to publish the documentation of facts and findings of historical analysis of India’s Freedom struggle in several volumes under the title "Towards Freedom". The Chief Editor of the project is Sarbapally Gopal. Some volumes have already been published. Recently in a unilateral move, the ‘Oxford University Press’, in-charge of printing the volumes, has been asked to stop the printing work of two volumes of the book compiled by two eminent historians Prof. Sumit Sarkar and Prof. K.N. Panikkar. Both of them are well-known secular minded historians and hence facing wrath of RSS. The publication of book is a twenty-year old project of ICHR. There was no interruption in the publication of other volumes till the BJP led government came to power at the centre. This time the reconstituted ICHR itself has created an obstacle on the way of its own performance. The present committee of ICHR has asked the management of Oxford University Press to return the manuscripts of those two volumes compiled by Prof. Sarkar and Prof. Panikkar. Clearly, there is instruction from HRD ministry behind this move. Even the committee has not shown the minimum decorum to inform Prof. Sarkar and Prof. Panikkar about this unjustified decision. They have got this shocking information from the press. Probably they deserve this type of behaviour because nourishing secular thoughts and anti-communal views is a criminal offence in the eyes of BJP-RSS combine. Now the question arises what prompted the HRD ministry and the committee of ICHR to take this decision. These two volumes under fire consist of the documents of freedom struggle during the forties. In particular, the projection of last ten years of British rule was one of the purposes of publishing these two volumes. During the last quarter of that period people had faced partition, India had achieved independence. The pro-colonial western historians have been trying to spread such an idea that India achieved independence not through struggle, but as the British rulers themselves decided to leave their colonial establishment. The publication of those two volumes was intended to counter this idea. To subvert all these aspects, HRD Ministry has instructed the ICHR to take steps to stop the publication of the historically-sound facts in the midst of the project. It is the historical truth that RSS played no role in our freedom struggle. Instead RSS supported the colonial rulers in their effort to suppress our struggle for independence. So, how can they give consent to publish the historical facts which go against themselves. It is definitely a deliberate attempt to distort history. These two volumes picturises the role of Hindu Mahasabha and RSS on the basis of historical documents. The leadership of RSS is eager to keep people in dark about this truth. Hence the interference with the freedom of publishing "Towards Freedom".

Protests are on

Both the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the HRD Minister Murli Monohar Joshi are keeping absolute silence over the issue. Even the talkative leaders of BJP-RSS combine, who spare no stone unturned in the events related to the society of the country, are silent spectators this time. Their attitude has raised doubts about the intentions of the decision to withdraw the manuscripts of those two volumes from the press. But already there is protest from different sections of people including intellectuals, academicians, artists, writers, students, youth, women, etc. They have raised their voices against the calculated move and blatant attempt of religious fascism to grip the institutions one after another. They have appealed to all sections of secular, democratic and progressive people to come forward to resist this attack aiming at ruining the country and the social base of India.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) has strongly deplored the decision of the Indian Council For Historical Research to stop the publication of the volumes on the history of the freedom struggle prepared by Prof. Sumit Sarkar and Prof. K. N. Panikkar. In a statement issued From New Delhi the Polit Bureau has said, after the work of publication has begun, the ICHR has now recalled the manuscripts from the press. The effort to scuttle the history project is nothing but a blatant attempt to impose intellectual censorship. The Human Resources Development ministry must immediately intervene to see the publication of the volumes proceeds as planned.

Mr. Anil Biswas, Secretary of West Bengal State Committee of CPI(M) has also condemned the decision of ICHR. He has said that the decision has nothing to do with academic consideration, it is completely political in nature. The force behind this decision must be resisted by the secular-progressive people. The patriotic people of India can never give a free hand to the communal forces who want to fabricate the history of India as per their own interest.

Students Federation of India, the fore-runner progressive students organisation of the country has expressed deep anger protesting against the decision of ICHR. The organisation has stated that the decision is highly provocative. It is all the breach of academic decency. Even the ICHR has insulted those two eminent historians Prof. Sumit Sarkar and Prof. K. N. Panikkar not giving the information about the decision. Both of them has got this information from press authority in-charge of printing the volumes. RSS-BJP combine is trying to suppress the negative role played by RSS during the freedom struggle. But they must know that they will not be able to change history stalling the printing of historical documents and also their effort of keeping the truth under lock and key will not be successful. The student and teacher community of whole country should raise their voice against such henious act of distorting and revising history so that the HRD Minister realizes that ICHR means Indian Council For Historical Research, not RSS Council For historical Research.

Moloyashree Hashmi, convenor, Jana Natya Manch says in a statement that it is noted with great concern the report that has appeared in the press that the Indian Council For Historical Research has withdrawn from publication the volumes on the freedom struggle being edited by noted historians Prof. Sumit Sarkar and Prof. K.N. Panikkar. The ICHR’S claim that the withdrawal is 'temporary' and part of a general review of all on going projects is facile and unlikely to convince anyone. There is no doubt at all that this withdrawal is politically motivated, aimed at stiffing secular and progressive historical research. It is no secret that the Human Resources Development ministry, under Shri Murli Monohar Joshi has pursued actively the agenda of saffronising all institutions of education and research. The ICHR, dealing as it does with the discipline of history, has naturally been a special target of this fascistic drive. As a result, he HRD ministry first filled up this body with persons of dubious academic distinction, but owing overt or covert allegiance to the Sangh Parivar, in order to control the historical research that is conducted in the country. Composed as it is with yea-sayers of the Hindutva forces, the ICHR has now withdrawn the two volumes. No one needs to be reminded that Prof. Panikkar and Prof. Sarkar are both distinguished historians of towering stature, who have consistently upheld secular and progressive values in history-writing. They are both highly respected scholars in India as well as abroad. In withdrawing the volumes being edited by them, the ICHR has dealt a body blow to the very discipline it seeks to promote. The statement calls upon all secular and progressive people in the country to raise their voice in opposition to the no longer hidden agenda of the Hindutva forces to impose fascism in every arena of public life in India.

The intellectuals, academicians, artists, writers, journalists, workers, bank employees, students, youth and women also staged a demonstration in front of the ICHR Building in New Delhi on Thursday last (17^th February, 2000). It was not a very much pre-planned programme. But hundreds gathered there to express their anger. Even Prof. Sarkar and Prof. Panikkar also took part in the agitation. The others included well-known intellectuals like Prof. Parabhat Pattanayak, Prof. Aizaz Ahmed, Prof. Uma Chakraborty, C.P. Chandrashekhar, Kamal Mitra Shenoy, Moloyashree Hasmi. Apart from the members of leftist student-youth-women organisations, representatives from different cultural groups of the capital, the students union of Jawharlal Nehru University, Delhi Union of Journalists, Democratic Teachers Front, CITU, BEFI and a lot of voluntary organisations were among the protesters. A meeting was also held there. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Sarkar, Prof. Pattanayak and others said that this was not a question of publishing one or two books. The question is whether it can be allowed to fabricate history from communal point of view. Clearly the central government has instigated the move of the ICHR. It will be a great mistake if one considers it as a general incident. Fascism is advancing as it did happen in Germany. They are trying to distort history which must be resisted. Whole Sangh Parivar is playing with their motive of giving India the shape of a rabidly intolerant Hindu Rashtra.

Clearly it is the history of our country, which is under fire from the religious fundamentalists. It is a challenge to the secular-democratic-progressive forces of the country to give a fittest rebuff to those forces so that this fire can never engulf the whole country.