Reacting to removal of chapters relating to the Mughal period from the NCERT books, MP from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah described it as “sheer mockery” and said history cannot be changed.
Abdullah was responding to a question of media persons on the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) removing the chapters on Mughal Empire from class 12th history books. Students pursuing Class 12 from the CBSE schools will no longer study the history of the Mughal courts.
Abdullah said: “It’s sheer mockery. What are we going to tell visitors who built the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and many other fascinating buildings and structures? How will you hide the architectural and cultural insignias of Mughals spread across the country? It’s there to remain. People come and go, but history remains unchanged.”
Abdullah also questioned the “double speak” of the government on holding of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. “Centre is saying the situation has normalized in Jammu and Kashmir. One of our top police officers is saying that militancy has declined but not over. Why this double talk? If the indices of security have improved then what is holding them back from holding elections,” he said.
First it was security then it was weather. Now that the weather is clear and the security situation admittedly better. What is it then? When we visited the Election Commission , we were told that the delimitation exercise, voter lists have been completed. All they are doing is manage new excuses every day to delay Assembly elections,” he added.