NEW DELHI, Jan 30: The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), an autonomous organisation under the Union Ministry of Education, has refused to feature any Muslim dynasty in the exhibition on Medieval Indian dynasties.
The exhibition on “Glory of Medieval India: Manifestation of the unexplored Indian dynasties, 8th-18th Centuries” has featured over 50 different dynasties sans any Muslim dynasty that ruled over India during the period, organised by the ICHR at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi, will be open to visitors till February 6.
On being asked as to why Muslim dynasties like Bahmani and Adil Shahi were not part of the display, Professor Umesh Ashok Kadam, member secretary of the ICHR, said he didn’t consider Muslim dynasties as Indian dynasties. “Those people (Muslims) came from the Middle East and didn’t have direct connect with Indian culture,” Kadam said.
“Islam and Christianity came to India during the Medieval period and uprooted civilisation and destroyed the knowledge system,” Kadam said, adding that while Islamic dynasties were certainly a part of Indian history, history shouldn’t be Mughal/Sultanate-centric.
Minister of State (Mos) for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who inaugurated the exhibition, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked ministers to remove “colonial hangover”. Singh added that in the journey from azadi (freedom) to swaraj (self-governance), “we must refine history.”
The exhibition features 50 dynasties from all corners of the country, namely Ahoms, Cholas, Rathores, Yadavas and Kakatiyas among others. It focuses on their founders, capital cities, timelines, and contribution to India in fields like architecture, art, culture and administration.
The ICHR has said the exhibition would soon be demonstrated at educational institutions across the country with the aim of apprising people of India’s unexplored past.
(Manas Dasgupta)