Identify heroes of 1857, assist their kin, BJP MP tells Centre

In yet another attempt to change the popular perception of Indian history to suit the right wing, BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh Sharad Tripathi has claimed that freedom fighters from the anti-colonial uprising of 1857 were not well-known to the people, and has urged the Centre to identify them and extend benefits to their families.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have long asserted that the uprising of 1857 — dubbed as the First War of Independence by none other than Sangh ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar — has not been given the pride of place in Indian history, and that the history has been dominated by Gandhi and Nehru under the 'Congress-Left hegemony'.

Balmukund Pandey, organising secretary of RSS' history rewriting project Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY), had earlier told DNA that it was conducting a research to find the national heroes who were missing from Indian history books. Several martyrs from 1857, such as Tantia Tope and Jhalkari Bai, figured in this list.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raked up the issue at a Meerut rally in 2014 accusing the Congress of having 'insulted' martyrs by forgetting them.

Tripathi too had earlier this year demanded in Parliament that a martyr's gate be built in Delhi to honour freedom fighters who laid down their lives between 1857 and 1947.

A list containing the names of such freedom fighters should be released by the government, he said adding that, so far there was no such authentic record. "While the names of Indian soldiers who fought the World War-II were inscribed by the British on India Gate, there is no such commemoration for the Indians who died for the country's freedom from 1857 to 1947," he said.

In a similar push, RSS and BJP had in 2008 organised events to commemorate 150 years of 1857.

More recently, RSS-affiliated historian Satish Chandra Mittal, associated with ABISY, had said in a seminar this year: "Instead of calling it a revolt, we should rather say it was a fight to protect the Indian culture."

Ironically, Savarkar had considered the Hindus-Muslims unity during the uprising as the cornerstone of Indian nationalism in his book 'The Indian War of Independence 1857' first published in 1909.

"I believe that India's fight for Independence began in 1857 led to the freedom in 1947. The government should do a study and recognise such heroes as martyrs. Their family members should be given benefits," he said.