History as Patriotism: Lessons from India

The Delhi state government in India has recently introduced a curriculum on patriotism for all Delhi government school students between classes 6 and 8: mandating a daily dose of patriotic sentiments for forty minutes. The Chief Minister referred to the history of past national “ heroes ” as the staple for the course. This, he said, was necessary as “ We need to develop an environment wherein all of us and our children constantly feel patriotic 24 × 7. ” 1 Admittedly, he is trying to steal a march on, and counter, a longer and aggressive tradition of “ patriotic ” histories, whose desired parameters are de fi ned by the ruling party within the Central government. The latter agenda also inculcates fi erce anger against those who have supposedly hurt the nation. Though the intentions of the two political rivals are mutually opposed, it is signi fi cant that both identify history learning with the cultivation of patriotic pride. It was a religious duty of every Muslim to kidnap and force into their own religion non-Muslim women. This incited their sensuality and lust for carnage and while it increased their number, it a ff ected the Hindu population in an inverse proportion. … Muslims … considered it their highly religious duty to carry away forcibly the women of the enemy side as if they were com-monplace property, to ravish them, to pollute them, and to distribute them to all and sundry … and to absorb them completely in their fold.. which increased their number. 13