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Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Monday said that Indian history is 'distorted' and we need to document the stories of the forgotten freedom fighters.
Addressing an event here in Chennai, Ravi said, "Unfortunately after the British left, all those who fought them, and were not necessarily members of the Indian National Congress who waged a non-violent struggle, were slowly forgotten." "We can't forget those who picked up arms against the British Raj and lost their lives at the prime of their youth," he said. The Tamil Nadu Governor added that previous governments considered spending on defence as 'unproductive expenditures'. "After independence, we started undermining our freedom fighters and even our Army, so much so that we considered spending on them as 'unproductive expenditures'. We thought that everything will happen with peace, but forgot that unless you are strong, no one listens to your word of peace," he said. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for naming 21 islands of Andaman and Nicobar after 21 Param Vir Chakra recipients. "Today, Prime Minister has named 21 islands on Andaman and Nicobar islands after 21 Param Vira Chakra awardees. Those who displayed extraordinary valour and lost their lives defending our freedom and the territorial integrity of the country have been immortalised," he said. Ravi said that stories of many freedom fighters need to be documented as the country doesn't yet have an authentic historical account of its freedom movement. "Our history has been distorted. India is yet to have an authentic history of its national freedom movement. Our freedom movement didn't begin in 1857, it began on Day 1 of when the British started colonising the country and occupying territories. All this must be documented. It's a big task but I know we can do it," he further said. The Tamil Nadu governor earlier stoked a massive row after he suggested that the state be renamed as 'Tamizhagam'. (ANI)
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