Home minister Amit Shah on Friday said that historians over the years have highlighted the Mughal Empire, while local empires were overlooked.
“The Pandya Empire ruled for 800 years while the Ahom Empire kept Assam independent for about 650 years. The Ahoms defeated everyone from Khilji to Aurangzeb. The Pallava dynasty ruled for about 600 years, the Chalukyas for 600 years, the Maurya dynasty for about 550 years from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, the Satavahanas for 500 years and the Gupta dynasty for 400 years,” Shah said.
He was speaking at an event in the Capital for the launch of a book on Maharana Pratap, titled ‘Maharana: The Crusade of Thousand Years’.
The party has mounted a concerted push on the Rajput emperor ahead of the Rajasthan assembly elections, and has been highlighting the Battle of Haldighati dating to the 16th Century, one of the earliest resistances against the Mughal empire. In the battle, Akbar bested Maharana Pratap, who managed to make an escape.
Shah said that For the first time, one of the successful kingdoms was that of Samudragupta who tried to fulfil the vision of India. “There is a need to write a reference book on this as well. In addition to that, Vijayanagara, Mauryas, Guptas, Marathas too fought for a long time. Sikh Gurus fought battles in Punjab, Veer Durgadas Rathod single-handedly presented indomitable courage. Bajirao Peshwa waved saffron from Attock to Cuttack, but history did not do justice to all these lives,” Shah said.
He said that the brave sons of the country, who sacrificed their lives in the freedom struggle, gave their lives to ensure the free flow of thought and culture. “We have to take this new flow of culture forward in the coming years,” he said.
Published 10 June 2022, 10:08 IST