Shashi Tharoor flags rewriting of history, pleads for pluralism

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor warned against reducing India's history to a "single thread" at a conference. He advocated for historical pluralism, challenging efforts to create a singular, exclusionary narrative amidst debates on curriculum changes.

'India's Story Cannot Be Reduced to a Single Thread'

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday flagged the rewriting of history and highlighted the consequences of engaging with the subject, he stated, "India's story cannot be reduced to a single thread." Addressing the National History Conference 2026 in the national capital on the theme, 'Revisiting the Muslim Contribution to Indian History, Society and Civilisation,' Tharoor delivered a powerful plea for historical pluralism, arguing that any attempt to "monolithize" the Indian narrative does a disservice to the country's civilizational depth.

He noted that the discourse around history is shaped by several members of society, including institutions, politicians, and educators. The Congress leader said," The question of who writes our past is not confined to historians alone. It lies with institutions, politicians, educators, and those who shape public discourse. More broadly, it lies with all of us, for the way a society remembers its past is inseparable from how it understands itself in the present."

'A Confluence of Influences'

Tharoor emphasised that India's strength lies in its ability to absorb, adapt, and integrate diverse influences over millennia, challenging contemporary efforts to streamline Indian history into a singular, exclusionary ideological framework. "History is not simply inherited; it is interpreted, debated, and often contested. The way we engage with it carries consequences. India's story cannot be reduced to a single thread without losing what makes it distinctive. It has always been a confluence of influences, encounters, and a shared, though complex, inheritance," Tharoor added. Tharoor highlighted that the "Indian story" includes the Vedic chants, the architectural marvels of the Mughals, the democratic struggles against the British, and the scientific temper of the modern era.

Debate Over Curriculum Changes

The conference comes amidst a broader national debate over school curriculum changes and the renaming of historical sites. In this series, the latest was the NCERT Social Science textbook for Class VII, carrying an extensive section on the Ghaznavids, detailing Mahmud of Ghazni's plunder of Indian cities and the slaughter of "infidels," including Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and even rival Islamic sects. The six-page section, titled The Ghaznavid Invasions, states that Mahmud of Ghazni conducted 17 campaigns in India, returning each time with large quantities of treasure. The old NCERT class 7 history textbook had a paragraph on Mahmud of Ghazni. The new book titled "Exploring Societies: India and Beyond", issued on Friday, describes in detail the plundering of cities such as Mathura and Somnath. Mahmud conquered parts of India in the 11th century after defeating Jayapala and, in 1008, overcoming Jayapala's son following a long battle.

Tharoor is a history graduate and is known for his books, 'Inglorious Empire' and 'Pax Indica'. (ANI)

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