Owaisi Blasts BJP Over NCERT Syllabus Revamp: "Muslims Not Responsible for Partition"

In a powerful and unequivocal condemnation, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, accusing it of attempting to rewrite history through controversial changes in the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus.

Owaisi's ire was primarily directed at the alleged removal of chapters pertaining to Mughal history and the contentious claim that Muslims are solely responsible for the partition of India.

Speaking passionately, the Hyderabad MP asserted that the BJP's purported alterations to the curriculum are nothing short of an attempt to cultivate animosity and hatred within society.

"The BJP government's changes to the NCERT syllabus are a deliberate move to sow seeds of hatred among future generations," Owaisi declared. He specifically highlighted the alleged removal of discussions surrounding the 'genocide of Hindus by Muslims,' a narrative he views as historically inaccurate and divisive.

Owaisi vehemently rejected the assertion that Muslims bear the sole responsibility for the tragic partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

He challenged this narrative by pointing fingers at historical figures like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the ideologue of Hindutva, whom he argued was a proponent of the two-nation theory, a concept that laid the groundwork for partition. "It was Savarkar who articulated the two-nation theory, not Muslims," Owaisi emphasized, directly countering the revised historical perspective he claims is being propagated.

The AIMIM leader further elaborated on his argument, stating that many prominent Muslim leaders were steadfast in their opposition to the partition.

He cited examples of numerous Muslim scholars and political figures who advocated for a united India, thereby debunking the notion of a monolithic Muslim desire for a separate nation. "Many great Muslim leaders were against the partition. Why are these facts being erased from our children's textbooks?" he questioned, underscoring the selective nature of the alleged curriculum changes.

This latest salvo from Owaisi comes amidst ongoing debates and criticisms regarding the NCERT's revised textbooks.

Educationalists and historians have expressed concerns over the removal of certain chapters on Mughal history, the Cold War, the Emergency, and the Gujarat riots, with critics arguing that these omissions present a sanitised and incomplete version of India's past. Owaisi's remarks amplify the political dimension of these academic changes, framing them as a deliberate ideological maneuver by the ruling party.

Owaisi concluded his address by reiterating his stance: the BJP's actions are not about historical accuracy but about political expediency and the systematic marginalization of a community.

He urged a re-evaluation of these syllabus changes, advocating for a comprehensive and inclusive historical narrative that genuinely reflects India's diverse past, rather than one tailored to a particular political agenda.