Aligarh(UP): On the removal of Mughal emperor, Akbar from the Bachelor of Arts (BA) syllabus by the University Grants Commission (UGC), Indian historian Professor Emeritus Irfan Habib says, "Teaching the wrong history will harm India and benefit the present government."
Speaking to ETV Bharat, on the removal of Akbar from the Bachelors of Arts (BA) syllabus, Prof. Habib said without naming the current government, "when it comes to the medieval period, their only aim is to teach the wrong history. Akbar's name has been removed on religious grounds, Kabir is also absent and the caste movement that arose in the Hindu society is also absent."
"Hatred against Muslims and Hindu-Muslim politics are now being seen in the curriculum of students as well. What the students of the country will now read in history and what not, the government is now deciding from its political perspective, while history is history. It should not be seen through a political or religious lens. Of course, the history of the country needs to be read by the youth as it is in history," he added
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Habib said, "Teaching the wrong history will harm India and benefit the present government. Akbar Badshah is not well regarded by the present government because he respected all religions and treated all as one. That's why it was removed from the curriculum."
"It is not only Muslims who are missing from history, but everything that does not conform to their ideology, and when you come to modern India, Hindu-Muslim remains there. Even Tipu Sultan has been removed," Habib added. Answering the question, Professor Habib said that "in the syllabus, they did not even promote Dara Shikwa because promoting Dara Shikwa means promoting his ideologies while he wanted to bring Hindus and Muslims together, he wanted friendship in both religions hence he has been taken off the syllabus."
Meanwhile, Professor Ali Nadeem Rizvi said that "good and bad Muslims are being politicized, those who are good in the eyes of the government are present in the curriculum and those who are bad are being removed from the curriculum".
