Weaponizing History: Threat to Democracy in India

This paper discusses the current use and abuse of history in India, based on a false colonial understanding that Hindus and Muslims constituted two antagonistic nations and that Hindus have a deep historical memory of Muslim atrocities. The effort after independence to replace this deeply divisive interpretation of history with a fact-based scientific interpretation was challenged by the religious-based communal/racist forces in India, and as they gained in strength, they have launched an attack on this scientific history and have tried to replace it with a concocted faith and mythology based version. A version which demonizes the Muslims and facilitates the establishing of a majoritarian fascist-type regime putting paid to India’s long democratic tradition.