Muslim dynasties not featured in Medieval Indian dynasties exhibition organised by Education Ministry; ICHR gives this strange reason

New Delhi: An exhibition on Medieval Indian dynasties was organised by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education. The exhibition highlighted 50 different dynasties but it did not feature any Muslim dynasty.

The exhibition which will be open to visitors till February 6 has been organised at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi. The exhibition is entitled ‘Glory of Medieval India: Manifestation of the unexplored Indian dynasties, 8th-18th Centuries’.

Defending the act of not including Muslim dynasties like Bahmani and Adil Shahi in the exhibition, Professor Umesh Ashok Kadam, member secretary of the ICHR, said he didn’t consider Muslim dynasties as Indian dynasties. India Today Kadam as saying, “Those people (Muslims) came from the Middle East and didn’t have direct connect with Indian culture”.

He added, “Islam and Christianity came to India during the Medieval period and uprooted civilisation and destroyed the knowledge system.” He also said, while Islamic dynasties were certainly a part of Indian history, history shouldn’t be Mughal/Sultanate-centric.

When Minister of State (Mos) for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who inaugurated the exhibition, was asked about the omission of Muslim dynasties, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked ministers to remove “colonial hangover”. He claimed that in the journey from azadi (freedom) to swaraj (self-governance), “we must refine history”.

The exhibition features 50 dynasties including Ahoms, Cholas, Rathores, Yadavas and Kakatiyas sans Muslim dynasties.