New Delhi: Over reports of rewriting history, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the centre wants Muslims to live in the country as second-class citizens and his community had never felt so marginalised in the independent history of India.

“Muslims are being treated as second class citizens now. The formation of this panel is yet another desperate attempt by the BJP government to distort history for political mileage. They have forgotten that history is written based on evidence, not on imagination,” Owaisi told Gulf News.

He said this exposed the fact that this government was using precious national resources and tax payers’ money to implement the agenda of Hindu fundamentalist outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“Don’t create jobs, introduce ecomonically wrong policies, and now distort history; the government’s priorities reflect its intentions. Good governance is not the agenda of the present government,” he added.

The Christian community and political leaders were cautious to react on the formation of the committee by the Culture Ministry. One Christian community leader, on condition of anonymity, said the government was free to have a “re-look” at history but it should refrain from viewing it from an anti-minorities perspective. Others refused to speak on the subject stating that it was too early to react.

Meanwhile, the panel formation has drawn mixed response from people at large. Kolkata-based civil rights activist Amit Banerjee believes “fellows with vested interests” will end up writing fiction and our children will have to study it as history.

“Yes, we have every right to recheck whether the whole truth of our history is indeed told or not. Unearthing truth is the driving force of human evolution which sets us different from rest of the other animals. But we must not do it with an idea to settle scores with political rivals or to suppress the part of the history which glorifies minorities. Already the minorities are living under tremendous pressure under the current regime and now they feel the government is hell-bent on erasing their part and role in the history of India,” says Banerjee.

Some agree that though Indian history may have been misrepresented for colonial dominance yet the current initiative by the government is an eyewash, which would not serve any good purpose.

“The final report of the panel is yet to be released. But what is the point of undertaking investigation of the history of this country now? Is the government trying to polarise Hindus before the next general elections? Its clear, its very clear,” says Mumbai-based social activist Rakshanda Khan.

But architect Manish Mishra from Delhi describes this as a great initiative by the government.

“Most of the Indian history (last 700 years) in our text books and in western libraries has been written by either English or Muslim poets. They had a biased view of everything Hindu. Indian history is much older and richer than what we know. It definitely is not just confined to Muslim invasions of India or the 200-year rule by the British,” he says.

Likewise, writer Abhishek Sharma says the initiative was long due.

“For too long Indians lived with history written by outsiders and it was time we wrote our own history, all supported by facts. If there are any gaps, let them be identified as such, and filled with theories. If anybody wants to protest, let them do it, as it is their right, but they cannot stop progress. Since independence, quite a few generations learnt some history but may be there are things that were not taught or not considered by the people driven by communal politics. An honest look at the history is what is needed and I am sure all learnt people will appreciate it,” Sharma emphasises.

“All over the world, history is an analytical subject but in India, it is still a narrative subject. That needs to change also. However, Indian historians themselves haven’t had the analytical exposure; they are hacks spinning tales for the master of the day. That is the sad part,” laments Mishra.