If Akbar's great, so is Maharana Pratap: Rajnath Singh wants new chapter in history books

He may have been playing to the gallery by suggesting it, but Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking that Maharana Pratap be also considered as ‘Maharana Pratap the Great’ is bound to be viewed with some scepticism. Inaugurating a statue of the king, the Home Minister said that Indian textbooks haven’t been able to fully recognise Maharana Pratap’s contribution and significance in India’s history. “If Akbar can be called ‘Akbar the Great’ for his contribution, then why can’t Maharana Pratap be recognised as ‘Maharana Pratap the Great’, he said. [caption id=“attachment_2249572” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI image[/caption] Singh welcomed the Rajasthan government’s decision to include a chapter on iconic figures like Maharana Pratap in school textbooks and said he would urge the HRD minister to consider inclusion of such chapters in the CBSE syllabus. “Rajasthan government took a good decision to teach school students more about Maharana Pratap. I will speak to the HRD Minister so that his valour and patriotism could be introduced in CBSE syllabus too,” he said. He said the Centre has decided to celebrate the 475th birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, the 16th century Rajput ruler of Mewar, all over the country in a big way and a committee has been formed for the same at the central level. He said Maharana Pratap was a true national hero who valiantly fought to defend his motherland. Not only did the Rajput ruler inspire Indians but his name also became a source of inspiration for people in other countries, the home minister added. “Maharana Pratap became an icon for freedom fighters because his name evoked a strong feeling of love and sacrifice for motherland. “Even the Vietnamese people were inspired by him and it helped them in defeating a powerful country like the United States during US-Vietnam war,” he said, adding that the fact was shared by the Vietnam president. Singh said that a former Vietnamese foreign minister had also visited Udaipur to pay homage to Maharana Pratap. Referring to VS Naipaul’s book ‘India: A Wounded Civilisation’ he said, “Naipaul has observed that he found India the only country in the world where history written by foreign historians is taught in textbooks. “The Indian historians should pay attention to eminent authors like Naipaul and take corrective measures”. Singh further said, “On the one hand Maharana Pratap had the respect and love of a rich man like Bhamashah who gave all his wealth to him and on the other hand there were people from Bhil tribe who faithfully fought many battles with him against a mighty army. “Even the animals like his horse Chetak and his elephants loved him till their last breath.” There’s little wrong with the Home Minister’s demand when viewed as in isolation. Historical Indian icons should be celebrated but the demand comes at a time when concerns are being voiced about the excessive influence of right wing organisations on educational policy. Earlier primary and secondary education minister, Vasudev Devnani said he was set to oust names like Akbar the great, Pythagoras and Isaac Newton from Rajasthan state textbooks in favour of ’local’ heroes like Veer Savarkar, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Maharaja Suraj Mal and Maharana Pratap. The Gujarat government implemented a similar scheme in 2014, when it decided to introduce seven books by Dinanath Batra, a member of the executive committee of RSS education wing Vidya Bharti, as recommended reading for its primary and upper-primary students. With PTI inputs