Chirag faces heat from NDA over crime remarks
Following Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's remark branding Chirag as a politically inexperienced figure, his son and HAM(S) president Santosh Suman launched a scathing attack of his own. However, BJP leader and PHED Minister Neeraj Singh Babloo maintained that while internal criticism is welcome, Chirag remains very much part of the
NDA
fold.
"It has become fashionable nowadays to gain media attention by issuing statements on crime," Suman said.
"Where does morality go when criminals are welcomed into parties with pomp and show?" he asked.
JD(U) MLA from Parbatta, Sanjeev Kumar, also hit out at Chirag, questioning his political influence in the state. "He doesn't have a single MLA in Bihar. There is no question of him supporting the Nitish Kumar govt," Sanjeev said. "If he had contested the Lok Sabha elections alone, he would have known his real standing. His party won seats only because of votes cast in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name," Kumar added.
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Despite the criticism, Chirag's LJP(RV) had a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha elections, winning all five seats allotted to the party.
Meanwhile, Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav commented on Chirag's growing political alignment with Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor. "Prashant should formally declare Chirag as his CM candidate. If Chirag wins even a few seats in the assembly elections, he will pose problems for JD(U)," he said.
Reacting to the HAM(S) leaders' criticism, Jamui MP Arun Bharti, Chirag's brother-in-law, said, "Manjhi may consider himself a prominent Dalit leader, but the people will decide that in the upcoming elections."
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Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
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Maya reaffirms go-solo strategy for 2027 UP assembly polls
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Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Maratha map in NCERT text includes Raj, angers ex-royals; Maha historians cite treaty
Kolhapur: The depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha empire in a map featured in NCERT's Class 8 social science textbook has been criticised as historically misleading and wrong by Chaitanya Raj Singh, head of the former Jaisalmer royal family. He urged Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 'X' to "correct" the "erroneous, malicious, and agenda-driven content" without delay. However, Maratha historians from Pune and Kolhapur said the depiction was accurate and cited documentary evidence such as the 1752 pact between the Mughal Empire and the Marathas to buttress the claim. The objection raised by Rajasthan's ex-royals to the depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha empire pertains to the map on Page 71 of Unit 3 'Rise of Marathas' published in the textbook 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond.' Prior to Chaitanya Raj Singh's objection, Bhupesh Singh, head of the former royal family of Bundi, had on X contested the portrayal of Rajput princely states as part of the Maratha empire and gone as far as declaring the Maratha empire a fictitious entity. "In the context of the Jaisalmer princely state, no authentic historical sources mention any Maratha dominance, invasion, taxation, or authority. Our royal records clearly state the Marathas never had any interference in the Jaisalmer princely state," Singh wrote. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Rajsamand's BJP MP Mahima Kumari Mewar and her MLA husband V S Mewar, a descendent of Maharana Pratap, joined in, as did Congress's ex-Union minister Jitendra Singh, member of the erstwhile Alwar royal family. "First misrepresented as being under British, now as under Marathas –– who is going to educate the educationists in NCERT?! Are they capable of presenting the factual history of India; seriously doubt it," Kumari wrote on X. NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Sakhlani and Gouri Srivastava, head of department of education in social sciences at NCERT, hadn't responded to calls and texts from TOI till late on Tuesday. Historian Pandurang Balkawade from Pune countered these claims, citing pacts and documents that demonstrate Maratha dominance. He referenced the NCERT map, which illustrates the Maratha Empire, including tributary states denoted in a specific colour, and cities governed by Marathas and their allies. Although Jaisalmer is not explicitly mentioned, the map's expanse includes Rajput states, showing Maratha reach from Peshawar to Cuttack. Indrajit Sawant, a Kolhapur-based historian, said, "Rajputana came under influence of the Marathas after Marathas started domination over the Mughal Badshah. Marathas used to run the Mughal empire and the Rajput states came under it. The Rajputs were jagirdars of the Mughals. They were made to mandatorily pay taxes. Though the Marathas didn't have day-to-day control over the Rajput states, there were deployments to ensure the terms were followed." Balkawade pointed to the 'Ahadnama', a pact between Mughal Badshah Ahmad Shah Bahadur and Malharrao Holkar and Mahadji Shinde for Nanasaheb Peshwa in April 1752, as evidence of Maratha authority over Rajput states. "There are sources and documents that provide a description of 'Ahadnama', the pact signed between Safdar Jung on behalf of the Mughal emperor and Shinde-Holkar on behalf of the Peshwa at Kannauj. The wazir of the Badshah brought Badshah's message that Ahmed Shah Abdali was marching towards Delhi, and he wanted Marathas to protect his empire. As per the pact, Marathas had to protect the emperor from internal enemies like Pathans, Rajputs or other rebels and external foes like Abdali. Marathas were given Rs 50 lakh for this. The Peshwa was given the right to levy chauth from Punjab, Sindh, and Doab, and the Peshwa was also granted viceroyalty of Agra and Ajmer," Balkawade said. He said Peshwa records indicate regular collection of chauth from regions including Ajmer, with a document showing Rs 13 lakh collected as tax. Other chauth areas were Delhi, Agra, Ujjain (Malwa) and Odisha. Following Badshah's death, Shinde installed Shah Alam on the throne in 1771, becoming deputy regent of empire. He pointed to disputes in royal families of Jodhpur and Jaipur on succession. "Marathas adjudicated in both and both rulers joined Maratha empire. "
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
NCERT map shows Jaisalmer as part of Maratha Empire, courts royal rage
Jaisalmer/Kolhapur: A Class 8 NCERT social science textbook featuring a map that shows fort city Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha Empire has led the scions of Rajasthan's erstwhile royal families to contest the depiction as "wrongful" and "malicious", pitting them against historians from Maharashtra who cite "documentary evidence" to back what they claim is historically accurate. Chaitanya Raj Singh, the current titular Maharawal of Jaisalmer, tagged Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on X, urging him to have the "erroneous" and "agenda-driven content" rectified. The map appears on Page 71 of Unit 3 — 'Rise of Marathas' — in the textbook 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond'. "In the context of the Jaisalmer princely state, no authentic historical sources mention any Maratha dominance, invasion, taxation, or authority. On the contrary, our royal records clearly state the Marathas never had any interference in the Jaisalmer princely state," he wrote. Brig Bhupesh Singh Hada (retired), head of the former royal family of Bundi, had been first off the blocks, disputing the portrayal of Rajput princely states as part of the Maratha empire and going as far as declaring the Maratha empire a fictitious entity. Rajsamand's BJP MP Mahima Kumari Mewar and her MLA husband Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, who is a descendant of Maharana Pratap, joined in the backlash, as did Congress's former Union minister Jitendra Singh, a member of the erstwhile Alwar royal family. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This new air conditioner cools down a room in just seconds News of the Discovery Undo "First misrepresented as being under the British, now as under Marathas — who is going to educate the educationists in NCERT?! Are they capable of presenting the factual history of India; seriously doubt it," Mahima Kumari wrote on X. Jitendra Singh said "historical evidence" shows that Maratha influence in Rajasthan was "limited to raids". "There is no question of dominance or expansion. Distorting history on religious or regional grounds turns facts into myths. This mistake made by NCERT is an attempt to undermine the valour, independence and cultural contribution of the valiant rulers of Rajasthan," he said. "It's a historical fact that in the 18th century, the princely states of Rajasthan — be it Marwar, Mewar, Bikaner, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Jaisalmer, Alwar or others... were all able to maintain their independence and autonomy. In the 18th century, the powerful Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan and the Jat state of Bharatpur were famous for their independent governance, military strength, and cultural identity. These rulers constantly struggled to maintain their autonomy against the Mughals, Marathas, and later the British," he added. But Maratha historians say the depiction is accurate, mentioning records from the 18th century such as the 1752 pact between the Mughal Empire and the Marathas to buttress the claim. NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Sakhlani and Gouri Srivastava, head of the department of education in social sciences at the National Council for Education Research and Training, hadn't responded to calls and texts from TOI till late on Tuesday. Historian Pandurang Balkawade from Pune referenced the NCERT map showing the expanse of the Maratha Empire, including tributary states denoted in a specific colour, and cities governed by the Marathas and their allies. Although Jaisalmer is not explicitly mentioned, the map includes Rajput princely states, indicating Maratha reach from Peshawar to Cuttack in Odisha. Indrajit Sawant, a Kolhapur-based historian, said, "Rajputana came under influence of the Marathas after the Marathas started domination over the Mughal Badshah. Marathas used to run the Mughal empire and the Rajput states came under it. The Rajputs were jagirdars of the Mughals. They were made to mandatorily pay taxes. Though the Marathas didn't have day-to-day control over the Rajput states, there were deployments to ensure the terms were followed. " Balkawade pointed to the "Ahadnama", a pact between Mughal Badshah Ahmad Shah Bahadur and Maratha warriors Malharrao Holkar and Mahadji Shinde for Nanasaheb Peshwa in April 1752, as evidence of Maratha authority over Rajput states. "There are multiple sources and documents that provide a detailed description of the 'Ahadnama', the pact signed between Safdar Jung on behalf of the Mughal emperor and Shinde-Holkar on behalf of the Peshwa at Kannauj. The wazir of the Badshah went to Kannauj, where Shinde-Holkar were planning to go south. He brought the message of the Badshah that Ahmed Shah Abdali was marching towards Delhi, and he wanted the Marathas to protect the Badshah and his empire. As per the pact, the Marathas had to protect the emperor from internal enemies like the Pathans, Rajputs or other rebels and external foes like Afghan king Abdali. The Marathas were given Rs 50 lakh for this. The Peshwa was given the right to levy chauth from Punjab, Sindh, and Doab, and the Peshwa was also granted viceroyalty of Agra and Ajmer," Balkawade said. He said records from the Peshwa administration indicate regular collection of chauth from regions including Ajmer (Mewar), with one document showing Rs 13 lakh collected as tax. Other areas from which chauth was collected include Delhi, Agra, Ujjain (Malwa) and Odisha. Following the Badshah's death, Mahadji Shinde installed Shah Alam, who had been held for six years in Allahabad fort, on the throne in 1771, becoming Naib Vakil-i-Mutaliq, deputy regent of the empire. Balkawade also pointed to the disputes within the royal families of Jodhpur and Jaipur regarding succession. "The Marathas adjudicated in both post-1752, and in Jodhpur, Bijaysingh ascended the throne, and in Jaipur, Madhavsingh ascended. Both the new rulers joined the Maratha empire. This should not sound against Rajputs; Marathas fought against alien invasion to protect everyone, which led to the unification of Hindustan. Mahadji Shinde controlled Delhi for 23 years, and the pact signed in 1771 helped him stop the British from taking control during his reign."
