Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar hit the headlines on Tuesday for his reported controversial statement related to Indian history. Parmar claims that the history taught to students incorrectly states that Vasco da Gama discovered India. He said that the Portuguese explorer did not discover India and announced plans to remove this incorrect information from the state’s educational syllabus.
According to Parmar, history has been taught incorrectly. He stated, “What has been taught about India’s history is wrong. Vasco da Gama did not discover India. He discovered the sea route, which our people already knew. India was already there.” Even more astonishingly, he refuted the conventionally held belief that Christopher Columbus discovered America when he emphasized that Indians reached the Americas before Columbus did.
“Columbus reached America in 1492, but records of our country show that trading with America began in the eighth century. They even built temples which are preserved in museums there. Historians should have considered these facts before teaching our children,” said the minister claiming Indians started trade with America during the eighth century according to ancient records.
He went on to say that the historical rendition, according to him, was all the while concentrated more on the weaknesses rather than the strengths of India. “Historians’ emphasis on the weaknesses of India rather than its virtues has been a concern. We have taken a constructive step ahead by reforming our education policy. We would present an all-rounded and balanced view of our history, cultural heritage, and values,” he added. He believes that this will bring pride, a sense of coherence, and purpose to future generations.
Commenting on the changes in the syllabus of education, Parmar added, “The state will correct the anomalies. Quite obviously, history shows Vasco da Gama did not discover India. We will remove this misstatement of fact. India was there long, long back, while Vasco da Gama’s country was not even in existence. So, the question of discovering India does not arise,” he said.
History records that Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama reached the Indian subcontinent on May 20, 1498. He landed at Kappad, near modern-day Kozhikode, which in those days came under the Kingdom of the Zamorin, Samuthiri Raja, of Calicut. Moreover, many Indians believe that an Indian from Kenya played a highly influential guiding role for da Gama in navigation. And informed him about the monsoon winds.
Meanwhile, Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the Americas in his 1492 voyage while attempting to find a route to India. Historians have labeled this historical accident as part of the “discovery of the Americas.” Even as Columbus had aimed at finding a direct route to India.
In other words, Minister Parmar says that his argument against long-standing historical views purports to set right the omissions or distortions in Indian school curricula. In addressing these issues, the Madhya Pradesh government desires not only to correct history. But also to provide a truer reflection of ancient India’s exchanges with the rest of the world.
ANI
