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.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi (PTI): Former India U-19 and Punjab medium pacer Amanpreet Singh Gill died at the age of 36 in Chandigarh on Wednesday, leaving the cricket fraternity in mourning.

The cause of death is not yet known.

Gill, who was Virat Kohli's U-19 teammate, featured in six first-class matches for Punjab, picking up 11 wickets.

He was also part of the Punjab franchise (Kings XI Punjab) in the inaugural Indian Premier League season, and later served as a member of Punjab's senior selection committee.

"Punjab Cricket Association deeply mourns the sad demise of Amanpreet Singh Gill, former Punjab cricketer and Member, Senior Selection Committee Punjab,” the Punjab Cricket Association announced on X.

"Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and loved ones. May Waheguru grant eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to the family in this difficult time."

Two-time World Cup-winning India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also paid tribute to Gill.

"Deeply saddened to hear about Amanpreet Singh Gill’s passing. Shared the dressing room in our early days, he was a quiet, hardworking cricketer who loved the game. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. Rest in peace Om Shanti,” Singh posted on X.

Gill played five Youth ODIs and one Youth Test for India in 2007.

In the longer format, he claimed the wicket of former Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera.

However, he did not make the Virat Kohli-led India U-19 side that went on to win the 2008 World Cup.

“Deeply saddened by the passing of Amanpreet Singh Shergill, who proudly represented Punjab and was a part of the Punjab Kings family. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and the entire cricketing fraternity,” Punjab Kings posted on their official Instagram account.