Kargil war of 1999 is remembered for the indomitable courage and bravery displayed by the Indian Army in securing victory for the country and reclaiming occupied territories from the clutches of Pakistan. But it seems that the Congress party which has doubted the valour and capability of our defense forces in the recent past, has once again found itself on the wrong foot. BJP in Madhya Pradesh has alleged that the chapters related to the Kargil war have been removed from the college syllabus at the behest of the Congress.
The change in the syllabus of MVM Science College comes after the Congress government came to power. The MVM Science College is one of Bhopal’s oldest College which also has a course on Military Studies. The syllabus of colleges have been changed earlier too whenever a new government takes the reins. After the Congress came to power in 2018 in MP, the chapters on Kargil War have been removed from the 2019-20 syllabus. The same were included in the course even during the academic year of 2017-18. The college had instituted a team of 15 to 20 people to review the syllabus. It was this team that had recommended the changes in the course syllabus.
However, no one from the government or the college have convincingly spoken about the reasons for excluding the chapters on Kargil war. Some say it is due to lack of books on Kargil war while few others have said that there are no books written by credible authors on the war.
The BJP has reacted strongly and has accused the Congress of politicizing the Indian Army and the war. The party has said that the chapters were removed at the behest of the Congress government as it does not want to tell the new generation about the heroic episode of victory against the enemy under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime.
Congress’ indifference towards Kargil War
It can be recalled that several Congress leaders in the past have refered to Kargil war as BJP’s war. Congress state governments and UPA 1 & 2 had refused to celebrate the Kargil Vijay diwas for a decade.
Congress MP Rashid Alvi in 2009 had infamously said that he saw no reason to celebrate the Kargil victory and that it was only for the NDA to celebrate.
Similarly, UPA’s then Minister of State for Home Affaris Prakash Jaiswal did not even know the dates when Kargil War was fought. When media asked him about Vijay Diwas, he wanted to know when was the day celebrated and why!
Given this attitude, removal of chapters on Kargil War in the college syllabus seems to be a continuation of Congress’ political stance over Indian Army and the wars it has fought for the country. Even recently, many Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi had doubted the Surgical Strikes and the Balakot Air Strikes and refused to commend the government for its political will.