While the nation celebrates 20 years of Kargil victory, chapter on Kargil war omitted from college syllabus in Madhya Pradesh

In a disgraceful occurrence, the Kargil war chapter has been omitted from college syllabus in Madhya Pradesh. According to a report by News18, the chapter of Kargil War was present till the academic session of 2017-18, till the time the BJP was in power in the state and has been removed from the syllabus of 2019-20, when Congress under Kamal Nath came to power in Madhya Pradesh.

This comes ahead of the ‘Vijay Diwas’ on 26th July, wherein the citizens are gearing up to celebrate 20 years of Indian victory in Kargil. The war and its victory was an indication to courage and bravery displayed by the Indian soldiers in which the army reclaimed Indian Territory from the clutches of Pakistan. However, Congress does not think it important enough to even educate the students on the war with Pakistan.

This change has come in the MVM College, which is the oldest and the largest college in the state. The change was made by a syllabus review committee consisting of 15-20 people, in the Defence and Strategic Studies department. The department was aimed to cater to those students who are enthusiastic about joining the Indian Army.

Now, in the new syllabus, the chapter on Kargil war has been omitted and the war will be clubbed with other smaller conflicts in a chapter about proxy wars. The reasons for the omission are unclear as the university has not officially spoken the untoward decision. However, according to some sources, the committee has claimed that the growing length of the syllabus is one of the reasons for the omission. Others claim that there is a lack of books on Kargil war while few others have said that there are no books written by credible authors on the war. All these reasons are difficult to digest and have failed to convince people.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that the most recent India-Pakistan war, one that has proved to be extremely strategic has been omitted from the syllabus at the behest of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. This interference of the Congress in the education, in which they try to ensure that any possible historical event which does not involve Congress leaders is not taught to the students, is not new. The BJP has criticized the move and has stated that the Congress is attempting to politicize the army. They have said that the Congress does not want the new generation to become aware of a victory against the enemy under Vajpayee government. BJP has also claimed that the move is part of the UPA’s agenda to erase anyone other than the Gandhi family from the nation’s history.

The Congress government at the centre from 2004-09 did not even celebrate the Kargil Vijay Diwas. Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 every year  MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar pointed out how Congress did not celebrate Vijay Diwas on July 26 only until the BJP MP questioned them and insisted on it in parliament.

Congress’ indifference towards the war is known to all. Not only do they fail to celebrate the ‘Vijay Diwas’, but Congress leaders have stated that the victory is only for BJP’s to celebrate. Congress MP Rashid Alvi in 2009 had unabashedly said that he saw no reason to celebrate the Kargil victory and that it was only for the NDA to celebrate. The Congress’ aversion to the war won by India under late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is such that UPA government at the centre, from 2004-09, did not even celebrate the Kargil Vijay Diwas until the intervention of a BJP MP. The party has also in the recent past questioned and doubted the surgical strikes done by Indian forces on Pakistan’s terror camps, as the sheer fear of losing letting a non-Gandhi take credit for national security-related decisions haunts the unethical party. As soon as the practically irrelevant Congress got the opportunity, they changed the syllabus and due to these political tactics, the valor of the army and the knowledge base of the students is being affected.