The list of myths pointed out by the author is too long; here I will mention a few chosen ones to indicate the scale of the problem. Debunking the 1857 War of Independence, K. K. Aziz elaborated that it was actually not a war of independence but a small scale mutiny only affecting Indian provinces of Delhi and U.P. When All India Muslim League was formed in Dhaka in 1906, one of its objectives was to generate among Muslims sentiments of loyalty towards the British. While stating reasons for the creation of Muslim League, this fact is conveniently overlooked in all official textbooks. It is also taught in textbooks that Allama Iqbal presented the idea of a separate homeland in his famous Allahabad address in 1930. Guess what, this is also untrue. He merely demanded the formation of autonomous units of Muslim provinces within the federation of India. In his letter to The Times, Allama Iqbal confirmed this assertion. However, the poor students in Pakistan are taught a different and incorrect history altogether. Likewise, it is commonly believed that Pakistan Resolution was adopted on 23rd of March 1940 in which the idea of Pakistan was put forward. That’s also incorrect, the resolution was adopted on 24th march not on 23rd. Secondly, the word of Pakistan was not mentioned in the resolution and it was called Lahore Resolution. Thirdly, it demanded the formation of independent Muslim states (More than one) each having sovereign and autonomous constituent units. This is a huge distortion of history and not many people know the truth, thanks to the distorted school books. Contrary to popular belief, Pakistan was formed on 15th of August not on 14th. The Indian Independence Act 1947 of the British stated that both new countries will be independent at the midnight hour of 14th and 15th of August. So, Pakistan came into being on 15th August just like India. Moreover, the textbooks also state that Pakistan won all wars fought with India. That is wildly untrue and recently much light has been shed on this topic, and this book also indicates this distortion. Lastly, the textbooks also hold India responsible for the fall of Dhaka which is again not true according to the author. The fall of East Pakistan was due to the discriminatory policies of ruling elite of West Pakistan and India merely exacerbated the process of formation of Bangladesh.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 09:09:43 +0000
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