Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was not in favour of Hindu Rashtra: Prof. Sucheta Mahajan

Hyderabad: Prof. Sucheta Mahajan of Jawaharlal Nehru University said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel never supported Savarkar and his supporters, he never favoured Hindu Rashtra ideology. There are a lot of letters regarding that, which are never highlighted because the present union government is trying to present Patel as Hinduwadi and an ideal for themselves. Sucheta Mahajan, history professor, JNU, Delhi was addressing Manthan Samvaad 2017. She spoke on the title ‘The Making and Unmaking of a Nation’.

She added that small and large scale riots in the nook and corner of the country ahead of Babri Masjid demolition were part of planned political conspiracy. Speaking further Prof. Mahajan said Sardar Patel never supported Nathuram Godse and Savarkar nor endorsed Hindu Rashtra. Rather his strong opposition for Savarkar and Nathuram Godse can be inferred from his piles of letters.

Justice J Chelameswar Rao (Supreme Court judge), Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, Nikhil Dey, activist, Nitin Pai, the founder of Takshashila Institution and Ravish Kumar, well-known journalist also addressed on the occasion

Ravish Kumar, well-known journalist felt that there was an important responsibility to eliminate fake news and morphed photographs on social media with the intention to create disharmony.

Lyricist and stand-up comedian Varun Grover mocked the top leadership of Congress and BJP.

Sucheta Mahajan, professor of history at JNU said, despite rising concerns that the nation is disintegrating due to the prevailing climate of fear and suppression of dissent, India’s diversity will hold the country together.