Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Indra Singh Parmar has claimed that America was discovered by ‘our Indian ancestors’, not Christopher Columbus as children are taught. Parmar also claimed that students have been taught the wrong history that India was discovered by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.
Parmar addressed the convocation of Barkatulla University in Bhopal on Tuesday. In his address, he said, “Columbus discovered America…Indian students had nothing to do with it. If they had to be taught this, then they should have also been taught how the people who came after Columbus tortured the society there and destroyed the tribal society there, because that society worshiped nature, the sun.”
He said that it should also have been taught that “how they were killed, how they were converted, but unfortunately the correct facts were not taught.” Parmar said that on the contrary, Indian students are taught that Columbus discovered America.
He said, “I want to say that if someone had to write, then it should have been written that India’s great hero Vasulun went there in the eighth century and he built many temples in Santiago, America. These facts are still written in a museum there. These facts are still kept in the library there.” The minister said that children should have been taught that America was discovered by our Indian ancestors.
He said, “When we (our ancestors) went there, we cooperated in their development with their culture, Maya culture. This is the idea and philosophy of India which should be taught to the students.” Parmar also said that students have been taught that Portuguese citizen Vasco da Gama discovered India.
He said that if historians had read Vasco da Gama’s autobiography, they would have been able to teach the correct history. The minister said that Vasco da Gama had expressed his desire to see India to a Gujarati businessman Chandan with the help of an interpreter at Zanzibar port in Africa. He said that Vasco da Gama followed Chandan’s ship and thus reached India.
Parmar said that Vasco da Gama himself had written that the ship of Indian sandalwood merchant was much bigger than his ship but students are taught wrong history that a Portuguese citizen had discovered India.