America discovered by 'our Indian ancestors', not Columbus: MP Education minister
Bhopal, Sep 11: Madhya Pradesh's Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar has claimed that America was discovered by "our Indian ancestors", and not by Christopher Columbus as taught to students.
He also claimed students have been taught "wrong history" that Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered India.
Parmar was addressing the convocation function at the Barkatullah University in Bhopal on Tuesday.
In his address, the minister said, "Columbus discovered America...Indian students had nothing to do with this. If they had to be taught, they should have also been taught how people in the post-Columbus period tortured the natives and destroyed the tribal society there, because the society was worshipper of nature, worshipper of the Sun."
"(It should have been taught) how they were killed, how they were converted. But unfortunately, the correct facts were not taught," he said.
On the contrary, Indian students are taught that Columbus discovered America, Parmar said.
"I want to say that if someone had to write, they should have written that India's great hero Vasuloon went there in the eighth century and built many temples in Santiago in America. These facts are still written in a museum there. These facts are still kept in a library there," he said.
Parmar said the students should have been taught correctly that it was "our ancestors in India" who discovered America and not Christopher Columbus.
"When we (our ancestors) went there, we cooperated with the local culture of that place, the Mayan culture which was prevalent there, in their development. This is India's thought and philosophy which needed to be taught to the students," he added.
The minister also said students have been taught that Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered India.
Historians could have taught the right history by studying the autobiography of Vasco da Gama, he said.
Vasco da Gama expressed the wish to see Bharat to Chandan, a Gujarati trader, at the Zanzibar port of Africa through an interpreter, the minister said.
Chandan told Vasco da Gama to follow his ship and thus the Portuguese explorer reached India, he said.
Vasco da Gama himself wrote that Indian trader Chandan's ship was much bigger than his, but students were taught wrong history that the Portuguese explorer discovered India, Parmar said.
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Waqf Bill committed to preserving Waqf properties, will be passed in Parliament in coming days: Shah
New Delhi, Sep 17: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday said the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was committed to the management and preservation of Waqf properties and would be passed in Parliament in the coming days.
At a press conference held to mark 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government's third tenure, Shah said the bill would also prevent the misuse of Waqf properties.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha last month and referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament for further examination after opposition parties raised strong objections to certain provisions of the draft law.
A government official said the bill was aimed at reducing conflicts and disputes. It also has provisions for setting up of a digital platform for online registration and monitoring of Waqf properties.
Listing out the government's achievements in the first 100 days, an official said 63,000 tribal villages will be developed with an aim to improve the socio-economic status of five crore tribals.
The official said the National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme has been extended to include waste pickers along with sanitation workers, promoting their social and economic empowerment.
The official said Unique Disability Identification Cards have been issued to three lakh people with disabilities from Scheduled Tribes, including 1.17 lakh cards for individuals aged 60 years and above.
The PM-SURAJ initiative has also been expanded to grant better access to subsidized loans for livelihood activities for Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, and sanitation workers. The Eklavya Model Residential Schools have led to enrollment of over 1.23 lakh students in 405 schools.
The government has also established 40 new schools and created smart classrooms in 110 schools for tribal students.
