Syed Inam ur Rahman. Ghayur.
It appears as if the government of Telangana has resolved to allow a free run to all and sundry in the publishing business. No care whatsoever seems to have been taken with regard to the authentication of controversial issues with enormous potential for spreading hate, inflaming passions and creating a rift in society. The phenomenon is not uncommon to other authors and books also I understand. Wonder if it is part of an in-force agenda to keep the pot on the boil?
Specifically being highlighted here is a textbook titled Telangana Movement and State Formation. A chance reading of the same came as a big shock for not just its pedestrian presentation, but much more so for the outright toxicity of its content.
In a chapter titled, Atrocities of Razakars under the leadership of Qasim Razvi, some of the bullet points listed on page 103 are reproduced hereunder.
“The atrocities of Razakars grew day by day.
They attacked unarmed helpless people in Choutupalli village and burnt 16 of them alive.
In Gundrampalli they killed a lot of people and a burning was conducted.
In Gundlapu, they caught women folk returning from, Batukamma, bared them and made them play Batukamma. They beat the women on their buttocks and reveling.
In Bairampalli, they shot 88 people continuously and enjoyed the ghastly act.
Kaloji Narayan Rao wrote a song asking for revenge of Bairampalli episode”.
If it were an instance of mere publication of false, hate-filled and malicious information related with the history of events or people by institutions owing allegiance to organisations like RSS, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, etc., it could have been ignored as usual venom spewing by self-centered profit and position seekers. Under scrutiny here is a Text Book published in Telangana which is ruled by TRS which claims to be secular.
It is for the study of students appearing for the “TSPSC Group 1, 2, S I and other Competitive Exams”. It is titled Telangana Movement and State Formation authored by S. Raju. Just imagine the dangerously biased mindset of prospective government servants such falsehood can create.
Except for the legend “Raj Series”, Ashok Nagar X Roads, Hyderabad,500020. Ph: 9908905641–7506660603, nothing else is given by way of name of Printer, Publisher or address with a door number.
Without going further into the merits of other contents and quality of presentation of the same, what is being objected to here is the falsehood of certain highly exaggerated assertions about the definitely not so innocent Razakars(volunteers). They were the much-maligned irregular military wing of the Hyderabad State working under the direct orders of the fire breathing, overzealous, egoistic QasimRazvi. In 1946, he had taken over as the President of the, gaining in political strength, M I M. He was released in 1957 after serving a prison term in a case in no way related to above mentioned horrible crimes on a mass scale.
I have looked up in the best of books, ascertained from people who are acknowledged authority on the subject, no one ascribes to the information given in the Text Book. Neither is it mentioned anywhere that such utterly shameful and vicious atrocities may have been committed on hapless men and women
Dr. Capt. Lingala Pandu Ranga Reddy, a scholar of repute and former Army man, mockingly asserts: “Sir, leave aside Urdu, let anyone bring one such piece of news published in Telugu or even English newspapers of the time”. He further adds, “I was born in 1943, a few kilometers away from the area mentioned. I grew up there and never was a word ever mentioned about such awful crimes having been committed.”
Given the very large number of acquittals of Razakars, it can safely be presumed that atrocities of the listed kind would never have gone unreported and unpunished.
Quoting from Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, A G Noorani, in his well-researched book, The Destruction of Hyderabad, tellingly quotes Panditji. Nehru, on his return from a visit to Hyderabad, wrote to the Military Governor Gen. Choudhry on 27 December 1948: “My own impression is that much of the trouble in Hyderabad on the part of the Hindus was due to the Arya Samaj elements as well as the RSS elements. The Arya Samaj in Hyderabad has been from many past years a very troublesome body and has done a lot of mischiefs. The Hindu Mahasabha also, usually functioning from Maharashtra, has done the same in past years and added to the political and communal difficulties. These elements will no doubt try their best, in the present circumstances, to carry on their old ways but with added vigour. This should be watched carefully” (Page 231). Prophetic words indeed.
The tone and tenor of the writings published in the Text Book are more malicious and less informative or educative in nature. The state government should deem it a moral responsibility to ban the book on account of its poisonous and mischief prone content. It should actually go a step further and file criminal charges against the author for spreading hatred and enmity between people through false information
It should also order a full screening of all Text Books for controversial and malicious content if any.
Syed Inam ur Rahman Ghayur is an independent journalist and research scholar.