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NEW DELHI: In a powerful and unflinching address during the launch of the book “History That India Ignored” authored by veteran journalist and ANI Chairman Prem Prakash, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh delivered a scathing critique of the Congress Party’s selective reading of India’s freedom struggle, asserting that it was never at the forefront of the freedom movement and that the Congress party had demanded only “Home Rule” under Governor General appointed by the British empire, not complete independence, until as late as 1930.
Speaking at the event organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated unequivocally “The Congress Party was, until 1930, content with being a loyalist club demanding Home Rule. It was only the countrywide public outrage after the hanging of Bhagat Singh and his comrades in 1931 that forced them to shift stance.”
Dr. Jitendra Singh did not mince words as he laid bare historical truths long buried under layers of curated narratives. Citing incidents from Prem Prakash’s deeply-researched book, he pointed out the Congress Party’s shameful indifference to martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Madan Lal Dhingra.
“When Madan Lal Dhingra killed Curzon Wyllie in 1909 in London, the Congress not only disowned him but passed a resolution against him. Even his own family denounced him. The only one who stood by Dhingra was Veer Savarkar-who risked arrest and went to see him in jail,” he said.
Dr. Jitendra Singh read the book cover-to-cover ahead of its launch and praised it for its unbiased, archival-based storytelling, unlike many history texts that glorify select figures while erasing true revolutionaries.
“Prem Prakash ji’s account is rare. Despite decades in journalism, not a single paragraph in this book reflects any bias. He has painstakingly brought out the real heroes-those left unsung by mainstream history,” said Dr. Jitendra Singh.
Quoting from the book, Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted that the Congress Party, founded by a retired British civil servant A.O. Hume, was “a club of retired civil servants and emerging Indian elite” demanding home rule – not a freedom party body by any measure.
“It was set up as a soft instrument of the British, to maintain control even as they prepared to leave,” he remarked.
Rejecting the long-peddled myth that Congress alone won India its freedom, Dr. Jitendra Singh pointed to several pivotal events that actually forced the British to quit India. Chief among them were the historic INA Trials of Prem Sahgal, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, and Shah Nawaz Khan, which ignited mass outrage and public mobilization across the country. He also underlined the powerful impact of the Naval Ratings Revolt in Bombay and Karachi, where uniformed Indian soldiers rose in defiance against British rule.
Adding to the pressure was the crippling economic and military toll of World War II, which left the British Empire drained of resources and unable to maintain its colonial grip. But above all, Dr. Jitendra Singh stressed the decisive role played by Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA), whose military challenge shook the very foundations of British rule in India and signaled that the end of the Empire was near.
Dr. Jitendra Singh challenged yet another colonial-era myth by asserting that the 1806 Vellore Mutiny-sparked by religious persecution of Indian soldiers-was the true beginning of India’s armed resistance, not 1857. He also recalled the Barrackpore mutiny and the heroic act of Mangal Pandey in 1857, stating these were sparked by British insensitivity to Indian culture, religion, and dignity.
Speaking emotionally about the Partition, especially the double Partition of Jammu & Kashmir, Dr. Jitendra Singh blamed it squarely on the personal ambitions of a few Congress leaders. He said:
“The unilateral ceasefire ordered by Nehru, which gave away a part of Kashmir that is today PoJK, was the first of many strategic blunders. Article 370 only compounded that pain.”
He condemned the Indus Water Treaty, calling it another example of Congress’s appeasement policy:
“We gave away the major rivers to Pakistan and kept the minor ones. India continues to pay for that mistake.”
Dr. Jitendra Singh lamented how great patriots like Syama Prasad Mookerjee-one of the youngest Vice Chancellors of Calcutta University and a key figure in the freedom struggle-have been virtually erased from public memory due to biased historical writing.
He slammed the Two-Nation Theory as a “self-serving British construct” backed by Indian collaborators, and recalled that even Radcliffe, the man who drew the border, admitted in a letter to his stepson that he had committed a terrible, unforgettable wrong.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Singh emphasized that Prem Prakash’s book sets a new benchmark for journalism and historiography.
“This is how history should be written-truthfully, fearlessly, and with the intent to inform, not manipulate. The contemporary journalist has a duty to record without bias, just like Prem Prakash ji has done.”
Dr. Jitendra Singh’s remarks, laced with truths that have long been inconvenient for some, have reignited the debate on who truly led India’s struggle for freedom-and who merely claimed the credit later. The event ended with a standing ovation and calls for the book to be made essential reading in Indian universities.
