Historians criticise Centre’s stance on Ram Temple inauguration ceremony

Historian Prof. Mridula Mukherjee expressed criticism aimed at both the Uttar Pradesh and Central governments for their handling of the inaugural ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Warangal: Historian Prof Mridula Mukherjee criticised both the Uttar Pradesh and Central governments for treating the inaugural ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as a ‘state-sponsored event.’ She emphasised that while it’s acceptable for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the programme as an individual, doing so in his capacity as the Prime Minister could be inappropriate due to the constitutional position he holds.

During an interaction with the media at the Indian History Congress at Kakatiya University (KU) campus here on Friday, she clarified that she and her colleagues didn’t align themselves with any political party. However, she strongly criticised the incumbent Central government for neglecting what she termed as the ‘authentic history.’

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Mukherjee stressed that it is the responsibility of governments to create employment opportunities for students studying and researching history, asserting that being tourist guides at monuments shouldn’t fall under the purview of history students.

On a parallel note, IHC General President Prof Aditya Mukherjee criticised the Centre for attempting to conceal history and propagate certain myths for their political gains. He highlighted the importance of people being well-informed about history to avoid falling prey to false propaganda.

Additionally, the second day of the IHC session saw three simultaneous sessions. Prof Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, the Secretary of IHC, said that the sessions included 22 research papers on ‘Dalit history,’ over 10 papers on ‘Reconstructing Indian Economic History’ by the Aligarh Historians Society, and 12 papers presented at the IHC Panel on ‘Deccan: Past and Present.’