Narendra Modi’s Government Is Falsifying Indian History
Since coming to power, the Modi government has worked to promote a phony version of history in line with its Hindu chauvinist agenda. From school textbooks to academic research, every form of historical education has become a political battleground.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 9, 2023 in New Delhi, Delhi, India. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)
I am the bearer of a historic document. Last summer, I applied for membership of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in Delhi.
The NMML is one of the most well-stocked and easily accessible libraries for researchers in India. It is of particular relevance for those working on the history of postcolonial India — a period for which declassified official records are scanty if not absent — because of its rich collection of private papers and oral history interviews.
In my experience, it is also one of the most efficiently managed repositories in the country. It is an intellectual oasis in an otherwise fast drying up landscape of systematically mismanaged and chronically underfunded institutions that support serious research in the humanities.
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