Ill-read critics of Modi using lies to belittle him

“Narendra Modi is not a very particularly well-educated and well-read man. The kind of depth and reading that we used to take for granted in big leaders – which Manmohan Singh certainly has – is frankly not evident in Modi.” Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor to Economic Times.

“RSS and BJP must give Modi lessons in Indian history…” Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Twitter.

“Narendra Modi got his facts and strategy wrong in making the Patna speech.” Nitish Kumar’s biographer and friend Arun Sinha.

“Very educated man with a keen knowledge of history…what is one to say of such a learned man?” Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

It seems as if every political leader of the Congress and its newfound ally, the JD (U), has become a historian in the aftermath of Narendra Modi’s historic Hunkaar Rally on October 27 in Patna. With Modi offering the people a future that the JD (U) cannot even dream of giving, they are left with only one thing – distorting Modi’s words.

What has followed is a juvenile attempt to corner Modi on things he never said. If we thought Arjun Singh was the worst when it came to history re-writing, think again… it has got a lot worse now!

As an avid reader of history, I feel compelled to correct the juvenile lies spread by the Congress and JD (U) leaders who are doing so just to score political points.

Allegation 1: Modi described Chandragupta Maurya as a member of the Gupta dynasty

Shashi Tharoor tells the Economic Times that Modi does not know the difference between the Gupta and Maurya dynasties. What his statement reveals is not Modi’s so-called ignorance of history but Tharoor’s own sense of comprehension which has deteriorated rapidly ever since he joined the party of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi whom he liberally criticised in his previous works.

Let us hear what Modi actually said:

“If we remember the Gupta Empire, we remember King Chandra Gupta”

 

 

As the video shows, Modi categorically said, “When we remember the Gupta dynasty, the politics of Chandragupta inspires us.” Ignorant but educated intellectuals like Shashi Tharoor should know that there were not one but three famous Chandraguptas in ancient Indian history – one in the Maurya dynasty and two in the Gupta dynasty.

The Chandragupta that Modi talked about is clearly Chandragupta II or Chandragupta Vikramaditya (son of Samudragupta and the grandson of Chandragupta I) under whom the Gupta age flourished.

So, who does not know history? ‘Educated’ Tharoor or ‘not well educated and well read’ Modi?

Allegation 2: Taxila is in Bihar, said Modi

Considering Rahul Gandhi tells the world Gujarat is bigger than Britain and India is bigger than the USA and Europe put together, his party has some gall to correct leaders who speak the truth.

The following is Modi’s reference to Taxila:

“If we remember the Gyan Yug, we are reminded of Nalanda”

 

 

Modi clearly said that when we remember the Gyan Yuga we remember Nalanda and Taxila. Is it not a fact that both Nalanda and Taxila are almost thought of together, much like someone saying ‘When we think of British education we think of Oxbridge.’ Does anyone say Oxford or Cambridge? No. It is always Oxford and Cambridge.

It is my challenge to anyone to prove Modi said Taxila is in Bihar.

Allegation 3: Modi brought Alexander to Bihar and killed him on Ganga

We must give Nitish Kumar a prize in fiction-writing for coming up with this bizarre interpretation of history.

First of all, Modi never killed Alexander in his speech. Second, he never said Alexander came to Bihar because had he said that, he would have contradicted what he eventually went on to say.

While talking about the glory of Bihar, Modi implied that such was the greatness of Bihar that its rulers had the might to halt a conqueror like Alexander. To illustrate that he narrated lines from a poem that said Alexander drowned in Ganga. Let me also point out that this is not a poem that Modi wrote, so the words were clearly someone else’s.

Additionally, the reference to Ganga was symbolic. It conveyed the message of how the mighty Nanda Empire, whose capital was on the banks of Ganga, scared Alexander away. To add a bit of geography, if you are headed to Patna from the north-western provinces, Pataliputra will obviously be on the other side of Ganga.

Will Shashi Tharoor dare refute that the Nanda dynasty was ruling in Pataliputra when Alexander defeated Porus?

Will Arun Sinha deny that despite defeating Porus, Alexander’s army refused to move further ahead fearing the Nanda rulers, thus making them retreat?

When they too know the truth, one wonders what wrong did Modi say?

Allegation 4: Modi made Nehru absent from Patel’s funeral

It is funny when those who had forgotten Patel all these years suddenly remember him only to counter Modi.

From the middle of nowhere, it emerged that Narendra Modi said Nehru was absent from Sardar Patel’s funeral! This claim collapsed like a pack of cards when the daily to which Modi was supposed to have made this claim released a clarification that Modi had said no such thing.

Why is the Congress dragging historical figures into its fight against Modi?

Extraordinary allegation: Modi was sweating profusely during ‘Hunkaar Rally’.

Wow! I am amazed at how keenly Nitish Kumar was watching Narendra Modi during the rally. Why not tell us how many litres of water did you drink, Nitish Kumar?

Nitish Kumar has colleagues who say it is alright for soldiers to die. He himself prefers to be silent when innocent children are killed during mid-day meals, but Modi is not like him. He is a compassionate human being and not insensitive to what is happening around him.

Modi knew of the blasts that had happened but what was shocking, as a State DGP later said, was that more blasts were expected. Instead of taking remedial action, here was the DGP saying there would be more damage! Modi was never bothered about himself. It was very easy for him to cancel the rally and go home but can you imagine what would have happened at Gandhi Maidan? How many lives would be lost?

Despite the blasts Modi came, spoke and appealed to the mammoth crowd to disperse peacefully. And that is what happened. As for his sweating, compassionate and sensitive people with a heart and who care for people would naturally sweat if something like this were to happen.

These days it is in vogue to compare Modi to Hitler. If it was Nitish Kumar yesterday, it is Jairam Ramesh today and there will be someone else tomorrow; that’s how the concoctions remain in circulation. Ironically, it is the Congress and its friends who are following every word of Goebbels, so much that Goebbels himself would have had to learn from the Congress and its new friends.

[The writer is Shivraj Singh, former national secretary of JD (U). He exposed the fallacies and hypocrisies in the communal-secular stand of the JD (U)]