Chennai, Nov 12: Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Tuesday lamented that the syllabus of state universities glorified the British but had nothing on the contribution of great freedom fighters like Kattabomman or Marudhu brothers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
He claimed that conscious attempts were being made to "erase the history of freedom fighters from public memory," and called for efforts to write our history or national freedom movement more diligently "bringing up all those who are now forgotten."
Ravi was speaking after releasing a book titled: “The Battles of Panchalankurichi” in Tamil, Hindi, and English, authored by P Senthilkumar at the Raj Bhavan.
"As Governor and Chancellor of state universities, I had sought for the syllabus on history, political science, and literature for BA and MA. I found that the 19th Century history of Tamil Nadu is full of praise for the British. There's no mention of Kattabomman, Marudhu brothers, or any of our freedom fighters," Ravi said.
The students were being taught that the British were great. "This is something shameful... a nation that forgets its heroes and martyrs has no future. We will be ungrateful to them," he said.
He also claimed that the impression was given that India got freedom through the hunger strike. The battle of Panchalankurichi was the first war of Indian independence in 1801, he said.
He was "pained" at some intellectuals writing books equating Shakespeare with Thiruvalluvar. They were talking about Dravidian history but forgot to think about our freedom fighters, he said.
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Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.
According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.
The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.
The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.
The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.
The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.
More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.
Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.
The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.
The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.
It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”
The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.
They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.
The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.
