BJP, Congress clash over NCERT's Partition modules
As first reported by HT, a new special module created by the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) on 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day' (August 14) holds three people responsible: 'Jinnah, who demanded it; second, the Congress, which accepted it; and third, Mountbatten, who implemented it'. The modules are separate short publications on specific topics that are not part of the textbooks; one is meant for classes 6 to 8 (middle stage), and another for classes 9 to 12 (secondary stage).
While the BJP has hailed the modules as 'truth in syllabus' and alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Jinnah have become 'synonymous,' the Congress has accused NCERT of 'distorting history' and branded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as 'the biggest villain in Indian history.'
Reacting to a question related to NCERT's new special module on partition, Congress party spokesperson Pawan Khera said the Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League were chiefly responsible for India's partition. He pointed to the 1938 Mahasabha convention declaring Hindus and Muslims could not coexist, Jinnah's 1940 Lahore resolution, and the Mahasabha–Muslim League coalition governments in Bengal, Sindh and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) after 1942, which, he said, paved the way for partition.
'Set this book on fire if it does not mention all this. The truth is that Partition happened due to collaboration between the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. If there is any biggest villain in Indian history, it is RSS. Future generations will not forgive the role it played in spying, which it continued for 25 years at that time. And in that spying, there was collaboration with Muslims and with Jinnah,' Khera said. 'Advani ji went to Jinnah's mausoleum to bow and give thanks. So, when institutions are being interfered with and history is being distorted, are we supposed to sit quietly? Can they erase the pages of history from 1938, 1940, 1942?' he added.
Responding to the Congress' objections, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia said at a press conference in Delhi that the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, was the first to feel the 'pain' of this truth being exposed. 'Jinnah and Rahul — their thinking is alike; they have become synonymous with each other. The same poisonous politics of appeasement that Jinnah practised is also reflected in the so-called Gandhi family. The Congress party also says that reservation should be based on religion, which Jinnah also said,' he said.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that it is true that Muslim League, the Congress led by Nehru, and Mountbatten were at the helm at that time. 'Who could have stopped Partition? Either the Muslim League or the Congress. In fact, there are statements of Nehru himself in favour of Partition. At that time, wrong decisions were taken out of greed for power and appeasement politics — and the country is still paying the price. Lakhs were killed, crores displaced, thousands of women raped. Yet whenever we remember this tragedy, the Congress opposes it. They want to escape history when it doesn't suit them, but otherwise they take shelter in history. The fact is, Congress is once again repeating the same historic blunder of appeasement and hunger for power. They must face the truth and apologise for dividing the nation,' he said.
Meanwhile, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi urged the government to include 'Muslims Against Partition' by Shamsul Islam in the NCERT curriculum. Owaisi challenged the claim that Muslims were responsible for the Partition. 'This lie is told again and again about Partition. At that time, not even 2-3% Muslims had the right to vote, and today people blame us for the Partition. How were we responsible for that? Those who fled from here, they fled. Those who were loyal, they stayed..,' he said.
NCERT officials did not respond to HT's queries.
Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) member secretary, Dr Om Jee Upadhyay in a video statement said, '..Partition was not a normal incident, but it is one of the most tragic incidents of history where 1.5 crore people were forced to cross boundaries...12-15 lakh people were brutally murdered..The new generation should know the truth so that they can learn from it and ensure that such incidents don't happen in the future...I do not think that there is any factual mistake in the modules and nobody has pointed out any factual mistakes.'
NCERT's special modules are supplementary resources in English and Hindi that cover contemporary and culturally significant topics. They are not part of regular textbooks and are taught through projects, posters, discussions, and debates.
The module for the middle stage states that India's partition 'was not inevitable' and happened due to 'wrong ideas'. The module for the secondary stage says that Muslim leaders, citing differences in 'religion, culture, customs, history, and world view,' saw themselves as fundamentally separate from Hindus , rooted in the ideology of 'political Islam,' which it claims rejects any permanent equality with non-Muslims. This ideology, it states, underpinned the Pakistan movement, with Jinnah acting as its 'able lawyer-leader.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
26 minutes ago
- Mint
Stock Market Strategy: Emkay Global raises Nifty 50 target to 28,000 as GST reforms seen as major market trigger
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of a significant Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform to be rolled out by Diwali, made during his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2025, is growth-accretive and likely to be a major market driver, according to Seshadri Sen, Head of Research and Strategist at Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. Emkay Global has raised its Nifty 50 target to 28,000 for September 2026 and recommends investors focus on autos and cement to play this theme. 'The second-order benefits of the GST rationalization are key: this speeds up formalization of the economy and improves competitiveness of Indian companies. We think the government should absorb the revenue loss through the higher deficit, as the growth accretion will cover the shortfall within 2-3 years,' Sen said in a report. According to reports, the government is likely to rationalize the GST structure for essential and daily-use items, with the aim of reducing the tax burden on households and stimulating consumption demand. The proposed changes include eliminating the 12% and 28% GST slabs and consolidating products under three categories: > 5%: Most items currently in the 12% slab (around 99%) > 18%: Around 90% of items from the 28% slab > 40%: Luxury and sin goods Sen noted that this move is a 'massive positive' for India as it provides a consumption stimulus, simplifies compliance with fewer tax rates, and promotes greater formalization of the economy by reducing the incentive for tax evasion. Passenger vehicles, two-wheelers, air conditioners, cement, and packaged foods are expected to benefit the most from the reform. Sen highlighted that the best strategy would be to invest in companies catering to mass-market segments within these categories. Emkay Global's preferred picks include Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki India, Voltas, and Ultratech Cement, with Bikaji Foods as a small-cap idea. The brokerage expects earnings upgrades of 10–15% for companies in these sectors, even though the direct impact on Nifty earnings will be modest (less than 1%). The brokerage estimates a fiscal slippage of 0.1% – 0.2% of GDP for FY26 and FY27, which could be partly offset by buoyancy and asset sales. 'The government should look through near-term fiscal slippage; India's complex GST is a millstone around the growth neck, and rationalization is worth the risk. Strong macro-financial stability, highlighted by the recent ratings upgrade, makes this the perfect time to push this through,' Sen said. Emkay acknowledged that the 50% tariffs imposed by the US on Indian goods remain a key overhang. However, S&P's decision to upgrade India's sovereign rating to BBB on August 14, 2025, provides a significant counterbalance. 'This is a timely recognition of India's fortress balance sheet and will serve to calm potential investor fears around the impact of elevated US tariffs. It also, we believe, gives the government more freedom to risk a higher fiscal deficit through GST rationalization,' Sen added. Calling GST rationalization a 're-rating trigger,' Emkay Global expects the reform to deliver long-term growth benefits and revive earnings momentum. The brokerage has raised its Nifty 50 target to 28,000, valuing it at an aggressive 20.7x one-year forward P/E ratio, which is one standard deviation above the five-year average. 'The GST rationalization offsets near-term worries on weak growth and tepid earnings. The six-week downtrend should now reverse, as the outlook for earnings improves considerably, and valuations will factor in the broader positives of this big-ticket reform measure,' Sen said. Emkay remains Overweight on Consumer Discretionary, while favoring small and mid-cap names in staples and cement within the materials space. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
BJP appeals to DMK, INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu to support Radhakrishnan for VP
Chennai: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has put the ruling DMK and INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu in a tight spot by urging them to support the nomination of Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan to the post of vice-president. BJP state president Nainar Nagendran on Monday said it was a 'historic moment' that Radhakrishnan, 'the son of Tamil soil', had been chosen for the vice presidential polls. The NDA on Sunday announced Maharashtra governor C P Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the vice-presidential poll scheduled for September 9. (PTI) 'This is not merely a political decision, but a proud recognition for all Tamil people. If history records that every party, rising above political boundaries, supported this honour being bestowed on a Tamil leader, it will be remembered as a milestone in healthy politics. Therefore, I sincerely appeal to all leaders and members of the INDI Alliance in Tamil Nadu to rise above party lines and extend their support,' he said. The NDA on Sunday announced C P Radhakrishnan, serving as the Maharashtra governor, as its candidate for the vice-presidential poll scheduled for September 9. BJP's ally and Tamil Nadu's principal opposition AIADMK thanked the national party's leaders for choosing a politician from Tamil Nadu as the VP nominee. The DMK has 22 members in the Lok Sabha and 10 in the Rajya Sabha. Even though the NDA does not require their support in terms of numbers, the BJP is appealing to the Dravidian party and its allies (Congress, Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, CPI (M), CPI, etc) to rise above politics and support a Tamilian. Interestingly, Radhakrishnan had met chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin in his Chennai residence, a week ago, on August 11. The leaders at the time had said that Radhakrishnan met him to enquire about Stalin's health since he had been hospitalised for a week and discharged in July. Radhakrishnan hails from the Gounder community in the western region which has historically been the citadel of the AIADMK, where the DMK is gaining ground recently. AIADMK general secretary and leader of opposition Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) also belongs to the Gounder community, as does former BJP state president K Annamalai. Radhakrishnan was born in Tiruppur and elected twice from Coimbatore - the only pocket where the BJP has its own support base in the state, which has been successively ruled by either the DMK or AIADMK since 1967. Having roots in the RSS in Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan was formerly the state president of the BJP unit. He was first elected from the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat in 1998 following the bomb blasts in Coimbatore city that year ahead of L K Advani's visit. He retained the seat the following year. Radhakrishnan's nomination comes at a time when Tamil Nadu faces assembly elections next year and the DMK has been criticising the BJP for being anti-Tamil. The BJP has been trying to make inroads into the southern state and Radhakrishnan's nomination seems to be another outreach to the Tamil population. DMK spokesperson A Saravanan said that BJP's decision to nominate Radhakrishnan will not influence voters. He cited the example of former BJP state president L Murugan who despite being made Union minister from the Upper House lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu. 'Radhakrishnan is an RSS man. What benefit can be brought to the people of Tamil Nadu? People of Tamil Nadu can see through what the BJP is doing,' he said. Nagendran's meeting with superstar Rajinikanth at his Chennai residence on Monday also set off speculation of roping in the actor's support since he is known to lean towards the right wing in a state where film stars straddle politics. Rajinikanth was backed by the BJP to make his political debut in the 2021 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu but after several fits and starts, he backed out. His mass influence has swayed elections in Tamil Nadu like in 1996 when the AIADMK lost after he said that 'Even God can't save Tamil Nadu' if J Jayalalithaa wins again. Nagendran said he met the actor to wish him upon completing 50 years in the film industry. 'An artist who has ruled the Indian film industry for half a century, with sacred ash on his forehead and patriotism in his hearts, he remains an everlasting national actor,' Nagendran said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
EC 'deleting' names of backward community voters: Akhilesh Yadav
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday accused the Election Commission of deleting names of voters belonging to backward communities and acting in favour of the ruling BJP . Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency Speaking to reporters in Parliament complex, Yadav alleged that names of voters belonging to several backward groups, including the Maurya, Pal, Bhagel and Rathore communities, were being struck off the rolls to benefit the BJP. "The truth is their votes are being deleted. The SP raised this issue earlier also, but it is important to understand that this is done deliberately to cut the votes of backward classes, while projecting that these votes are going elsewhere," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. Yadav claimed his party had identified constituencies where they lost by a narrow margin and where voter deletions played a role. "This is what we could identify in a short time. If we receive the voter lists in the format we want, we can provide more such cases. Votes cast in 2019 were deleted by 2022. There is also a proper procedure for creating a voter ID , but that is being ignored," he charged. Live Events The former chief minister demanded strict action against erring officials. "Our demand is simple that suspend even one district officer who is responsible. If you do this, not a single vote will be cut anywhere in the country. Show us if in 2019, 2022 or 2024, even one officer was removed for such lapses. Since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, not a single officer has been punished, no matter how many complaints are filed. Why is that? It means the EC listens more to the BJP," Yadav charged. He also cited a case where, according to him, a BJP legislator had created 400 fake votes at her booth, forcing the SP to get over 200 of them removed. "This kind of verification is being done by political parties, but why does not the EC conduct such an exercise?" he said. Criticising the way officials are appointed during elections, Yadav objected to alleged caste-based selections. "Our demand is very clear that don't appoint Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on the basis of caste, don't appoint presiding officers on caste basis. It appears as if the ruling party decides which official suits them best," he said.
