First they manufactured tured distorted history of India as that of defeats and subjugation. Then, they peddled fake narratives. Then, they used a blend of distorted history and fake narratives to sow an inferiority complex among Indians. Then, they glorified the invaders and colonialists by attributing credit of everything good and great in India to them. Then, they started sowing seeds of discord in society by attaching the labels of castes and religion to even the great Indian warriors and saints and litterateurs and intellectuals. And, today, they are the ones who are rejecting everything Indian as inferior, unscientific, and regressive These days, the virus of celebrating the invaders and marauders and plunderers of India, that is, Bharat, has once again infected a section of political class in India. As usual, a clique of some so-called historians, who do not cite authentic references but apply brush-strokes of casteist and religious hatred to paint history in the colour of their political biases, has jumped in to strengthen distorted narratives.

 

This segment has been working to downplay Indian achievements from the past as well as the present. Historically, such forces become more active whenever India marched ahead in global order, on the strength of her rich socio-cultural heritage. They have been keeping mum on the contribution of Indian bravehearts like Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan, Rana Sanga, Maharana Pratap, Rani Abbakka Chowta, Guru Gobind Singh, Banda Bahadur, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Rani Laxmibai, ‘Punyashlok’ Ahilyabai Holkar, Peshwa Bajirao, Tatya Tope, Wasudeo Balwant Phadke and so many others who protected Indian culture and heritage for the future generations by fighting valiant battles with enemy from the outside and within. Sometimes, they have even raised questions about the contribution of some of these great architects of India only on the basis of viewing history through a casteist lens.

 

They have shied away from celebrating these warriors and administrators. But, the nexus of biased politicians and so-called historians left no stone unturned in manufacturing history through either selective use of references or peddling only their own ‘creative imagination’ as objective truth. This same nexus glorified tyrannical Mughal rulers like Aurangzeb, and worked hard to add layers of ‘complex character’ to several invaders and to sing paeans about how they brought some ‘system’ to India. They carefully downplayed the medieval cruelties and massacres. They systematically produced literature that diluted the fundamentalist nature of rulers who were descendants of invaders. They undervalued the descendants of invaders who were in favour of harmony with Indian culture and traditions. Why did they do all this? Because, they wanted to etch in the Indian psyche that India has had a long history of defeats and subjugation. While people the world over celebrate their heroes who fought bravely, even if they lost a battle or two, a section of the political class and a clique of some so-called historians in India have been consistently championing the cause of glorifying the invaders and marauders and plunderers instead of celebrating own heroes. Time has come to celebrate our own heroes.

 

So, may it be the Battles of Panipat to 1962 Sino-India war to more recent surgical strikes that destroyed terrorist bases in Pakistan, heroes and heroines in each of these must be celebrated. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, rightly described the third Battle of Panipat as a ‘symbol of bravery’ and not defeat. For, after losing that battle, the Marathas fought back and captured Delhi within 10 years, and punished refractory powers that had sided with the attackers from foreign territories. For, going back, though Aurangzeb tortured and killed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the latter’s fierce commitment to the cause of‘Hindavi Swarajya’ is worth drawing inspiration from. For, in post-independence India, though India had agreed to the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Communist China in 1962 war, the heroism of Subedar Joginder Singh, Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, Major Shaitan Singh and others must be celebrated. There are umpteen stories of valour, raw courage, fierce commitment to cause, military leadership.

 

These stories need to be told and retold. For, there has been no dearth of bravehearts in India. There has been no dearth of rulers, military generals, innovators, merchants, administrators, soldiers, saints, litterateurs, singers, music composers, intellectuals, social reformers, revolutionaries... The list is pretty long. Even if a battle was lost or a phase of foreign rule came in the long history of Bharat, the fact remains that the nation has risen through all these because of the determination of the bravehearts to protect the ethos of the culturally united nation. Each one of them contributed immensely to preservation and prosperity of Bharat. In each era, whenever ordinary people saw no escape from tyranny and subjugation, history thrust on the scene a lionheart in India. Whenever the going got tough, the tough rose and got going. Even today, new heroes are waiting for their moment to come. As per the needs of the modern time, not everyone is fighting a battle.

 

Many are silently contributing to add a great value to the Indian national discourse. Their stories need to be written and told, instead of glorifying the past tyrants whose days are long over. Because, Indian history has not been about defeats, but about continued march of victory interrupted only briefly by some setbacks. The Indians, particularly the youngsters, getting this ingrained in their psyche have a winning attitude and they shine brighter anywhere in the world. However, those falling prey to the vile designs of a politically biased clique see no good in their own history and develop a negative attitude that only alienates them from their roots. Time has come to shed this inferiority complex injected into generations of Indians, and celebrate the bravehearts for their grit and draw lessons in pride and leadership for a shining future.