The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) has decided to not feature Islamic dynasties during an exhibition on ‘Glory of Medieval India: Manifestation of the Unexplored -Indian Dynasties, 8th-18th Centuries.’
The said exhibition was inaugurated on Monday (January 30) at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. It will be open to the public until February 6, 2023.
While speaking about his decision to exclude Islamic dynasties, Professor Umesh Ashok Kadam said, “Those people (Muslims) came from the Middle East and didn’t have a direct connect with Indian culture.”
It must be mentioned that Professor Kadam is a member secretary of the Indian Council of Historical Research, which is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Education.
“Islam and Christianity came to India during the Medieval period and uprooted civilisation and destroyed the knowledge system,” he emphasised stating that Indian history should not be defined by Mughals and Delhi Sultanate.
He also informed that he did not consider Islamic invaders as Indian dynasties. The Exhibition on Medieval Indian dynasties thus excluded invaders such as Bahmani and Adil Shahi.
Reportedly, ICHR will organise the exhibition at prominent education institutes across the country to make people aware of the glory of the unexplored past. In total, about 50 dynasties including the Cholas, Rathores, Yadavs, and Kaktiyas were featured at the exhibition.