New Delhi: The NCERT has decided to include the Paika rebellion of Odisha in its Class VIII history textbooks, prompting some historians to demand similar recognition for other regional rebellions against the British.
The Paikas were a landed militia who had in 1817 risen unsuccessfully against the colonial rulers under the leadership of Buxi Jagabandhu, a commander of the then king of Khurda. The BJP and the Biju Janata Dal have been vying to champion the Paika cause.
Upasana Mohapatra, great-granddaughter of Buxi Jagabandhu, joined the BJP at an event in Bhubaneswar in October. Her father Lulu Mohapatra had been a Congress politician till his death last year.
On July 20 this year, the NDA government organised an event in Delhi to celebrate 200 years of the uprising.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, on the other hand, has written to the Centre to declare the rebellion India's "first war of independence". It's the sepoy revolt of 1857 that is popularly known as the "first war of independence".
Junior human resource development minister Satya Pal Singh had said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha last week that the "Paika Bidroha" would be included in NCERT books.
To a question from Congress member Mullapally Ramachandran, he said that other than the Paikas, ordinary peasants, landholders and salt-makers too had risen against the British during this period, making it a popular movement.
"Later, in 1857, we see a movement or uprising of similar nature, though on a much larger scale. Therefore, from a historical point of view, it can be said that the Paika Bidroha had set an example," the minister said.
"Considering that this is one of the beginnings of popular uprisings against the British in India, it has been decided to include it as a 'case study' in the Class VIII history textbook of NCERT, which deals with the 1857 event."
In the context of NCERT books, a "case study" refers to small boxes describing certain significant events of the past.
"It's a good thing but similar rebellions of the time in other parts of the country too should be included in the textbooks," Saradindu Mukherjee, a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research, told this newspaper.
He mentioned the Poligar rebellion (1799) in Tamil Nadu, and the Kol revolt (1820s and 1830s) and Santhal rebellion (1855) in present-day Jharkhand. Poligars were feudal governors appointed by kings.
A few years ago, a group of scholars from Tamil Nadu had demanded that the Poligar rebellion be declared India's "first war of independence" but the Indian Council of Historical Research, to which the matter was referred, found no merit in the demand.
A history teacher from JNU, however, was sceptical of the whole exercise. The teacher said that earlier, NCERT books used to avoid regional events and focus on national-level developments but now "decisions to include and exclude texts are taken under political pressure".
Sources in the NCERT said a panel had taken the decision to include the Paika rebellion in the textbook without much debate. There is no clear policy on what is to be included or excluded.
The NCERT is reviewing all its books for the next academic session. Its director Hrushikesh Senapati did not answer calls and text messages seeking his comments on the demand for inclusion of other revolts.
