Author:
Publication: Deccan Chronicle
Date: July 13, 2005
"Prithviraj Chauhan was a coward
who ran away to save his life during the second battle of Tarain with Mohammad
Ghauri." "Jaichand (generally believed to be a traitor) was, in fact a
'hero' who gave up his life while fighting the forces of Ghauri." This
is the "new" history that students of Class XI will learn under the CBSE
and ICSE courses from this academic session. The revised history book,
Medieval Indian History, published by NCERT, demolishes old beliefs and
tramples over heroes of history.
Edited by Prof. Satish Chandra,
the fifth chapter of the book on Medieval History clearly states that Prithviraj
Chauhan tried to run away from the battle, but was taken prisoner. The
book says that when Prithviraj accepted the supremacy of Mohammad Ghauri,
the latter allowed him to continue as ruler of Ajmer. Prithviraj was later
killed on charges of treason, according to the book, which goes on to say
that Jaichand's valour was unmatched and that he was killed while fighting
the forces of Ghauri in Kannauj.
History, till now, had taught that
Jaichand was a coward and a traitor who first betrayed Prithviraj Chauhan,
and then was drowned while trying to flee the forces of Ghauri (History
of Rajasthan, page 156). The NCERT history book also demolishes the belief
that the main cause of bitterness between Prithviraj and Jaichand was the
fact that the latter's daughter Sanyogita had eloped with Prithviraj and
that Jaichand never forgave them.
According to the new book, there
were major political differences between the two kings and Sanyogita was
not part of it. While the NCERT book throws new light on Prithviraj Chauhan
and Jaichand, the Class 11 book Ancient India History, written by Prof.
Ram Sharan Sharma, discards the presence of Lord Krishna during the Mahabharata.
The book says, "Although Krishna plays an important role in the Mahabharata,
inscriptions and sculptural pieces found in Mathura dating back to 200
BC and 300 AD do not attest to his presence. Because of this, ideas of
an epic age based on the Ramayana and Mahabharata have to be discarded."
