To counter efforts by the votaries of Hindutva, including the BJP-run governments at the Centre and several states, 88 Indian and international scholars have come together to publish a “report on the civilisation and histories of India.”
The report, spearheaded by linguist G N Devy, was unveiled here on Sunday. It documents India’s history over the last 12,000 years. Its objective is to contest a similar effort that the Centre announced in September 2020. The report attempts a contestation between the scientific view of history against the ideologically charged attempts to distort and twist the history of South Asia unfolding before us in recent years, Devy said.
In September 2020, the Centre set up a committee to study “the origin and evolution of Indian culture dating back to around 12,000 years ago”. A similar committee was appointed in 2017. The government committees were criticised as they had either nominal or no representation from the south and northeast regions of India, the members of religious minorities, Dalits and women.
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