Controversial remarks were made on Sunday by Rajasthans education minister, Madan Dilawar, regarding Mughal emperor Akbar. While visiting a temple in Balotra, Dilawar labeled Akbar as an aggressor and a rapist, saying He used to run meena bazaar to bring beautiful women with him and later raped them. The minister stated that calling Akbar a great personality is stupidity. These inflammatory comments came amid ongoing debates over potential changes to school textbooks under the new state government. Dilawar had said earlier that while he does not want any change, only fix unethical statements. Clarifying further, the minister stated: We dont need to make any changes in the curriculum, but the contents that make any unethical statements or disrespect great men will be removed.Specifically calling out what he sees as misleading information about historical Indian figures like Veer Savarkar and Shivaji, Dilawar claimed: In many textbooks, it was stated that Savarkar was not a patriot. While Akbar is considered a great man, Shivaji is referred to as Pahadi Chuha, and Maharana Prataps role is overshadowed by the role of Akbar. Such statements are not acceptable and will be reviewed.”In response, state Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi questioned whether the education minister was implying errors by the current central government: The school curriculum in Rajasthan is set by academicians and other experts of the NCERT which is supervised by the central government. Does the minister want to say that the government which is run by his own party are making these mistakes Dilawar holds a diploma in mechanical engineering. Retired history professor Brij Kishore Sharma provided an opposing perspective, stating: Akbar was a successful ruler not just in the countrys history, but in world history.
