Dr. N.S. Rajaram write - The first half century of Indias existence as a free nation is characterized by two significant failures: first, a failure to define the concept of India as a nation; second, a failure to evolve national institutions in education and intellectual life. In other words, a comprehensive failure to define a vision of nationalism rooted in the countrys history and culture. The result is that anti-national forces have had a field day, seriously undermining national security.

He further adds that most nations distort their history to enhance achievements and build their national spirit. But in India, the situation in the first fifty years since independence has been the reverse of this. Indian history has been distorted to favor ideas and groups hostile to national interests. The result is that students are brought up to be apologetic and even ashamed of their history and tradition, despite having one of the greatest heritages in the world, if not the greatest.

He alleges that, "This is not an accident. During the colonial era, it was natural that the British should haveestablished institutions and an education system that promoted their own interests. But for fifty years after independence, the same values and institutions were perpetuated by successors of the British."

These successors to colonial rulers identify themselves with alien values and their former rulers to such an extent that they are implacably hostile to anything Indian, especially Hindu.

In his lecture on Culture and Nationalism,he stressed that, I see in India today is a struggle between a rising historical awareness of a people belonging to a long suppressed ancient civilization and the residual forces of its colonial past.It is in fact a struggle between Indian nationalism and the agents of past imperialisms.

In his notion, An accurate history of events and forces leading to Indian independence is yet to be written. Ill get to this point later, but first a few words about the role of history in the preservation of culture and inspiring nationalism.

He cautioned that, "There are forces at work today that want to suppress its spirituality and replace it with a crassly materialistic system. I see the present political turmoil as the outcome of forces of materialism mostly destructive in nature trying to impose an alien materialistic culture camouflaged as secularism. If they succeed, India will share the fate other ancient nations that were destroyed by the imposition of materialistic ideologies."

He also given a concurrent example to prove his point that, "In our own time, China is engaged in destroying the highly spiritual culture of Tibet. All that the destroyers have left in these countries are imitative societies with little to call their own. To be convinced of this, all you have to do is visit an ancient country like Egypt, Greece or Mexico and see the glaring contrast between their wonderful monuments and their current cultural deprivation. This is what a materialistic ideology invariably does to a civilization."

The destruction of any civilization is always done through distorting its history. A version of history is created to turn the victims into villains and the destroyers into heroes.

So in defending a civilization, it is extremely important for the leaders to preserve and protect its culture and traditions. Monuments can come and go, but an awareness of history and culture must be preserved.

He quoted Jean Le Mée, a French student of the Vedas. Jean Le Mée wrote:

Precious stones or durable materials gold, silver, bronze, marble, onyx or granite have been used by ancient people in an attempt to immortalize themselves. Not so however the ancient Vedic Aryans. They turned to what may seem the most volatile and insubstantial material of all the spoken word...

The pyramids have been eroded by the desert wind, the marble broken by earthquakes, and the gold stolen by robbers, while the Veda is recited daily by an unbroken chain of generations, traveling like a great wave through the living substance of mind.

He further said, It is my contention that in the past fifty years, that is, the period after independence, the leaders have failed to build national institutions rooted in the culture and the history of the land. Instead, they have been trying to import ideas and models from their former colonial masters. This has now reached its absurd limit with the party claiming to have fought for freedom from European rule asking a European to lead them and the country! He again pointed out, distortion of history is the principal weapon used in the destruction of any civilization.

He further writes, "To the victor belong the spoils it is said. So does history. In more homely language, President Harry Truman said: "History is always written by the winner." By this he meant that the victorious side invariably seeks to impose a version of history that shows itself and its leaders in the most favorable light. The truth of this is reflected in the way history books werewritten after India gained independence. They dinned into the heads of impressionable young students like myself, that the Congress party and its leaders fought long and hard to free the country from European domination. In particular, our history books told us of the Herculean struggles of Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru without which India would have remained a British colony." And like most individuals of my generation, I accepted it as truth.

He alleges the Congress Party, he said, "The Congress party, having inherited the Government from the British, managed to hold on to it for nearly forty years, and remained in a position to decide the fate of governments for another ten".

This excerpt is from ‘Distortions in Indian History' By : Dr N. S. Rajaram.