First war of independence: 1857

[acharya]

"PM ignored 1857 during Oxford lecture"

Special Correspondent

Manmohan glorified ICS officers, says historian Irfan Habib

LUCKNOW: Eminent historian Irfan Habib on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of "ignoring the sacrifices made by the revolutionaries during the Revolt of 1857" during his lecture at Oxford University recently. Prof. Habib said Dr. Singh in his lecture remembered the contributions made by the ICS officers to India but did not remember the Great Revolt of 1857.

Delivering the Akhilesh Mishra Memorial Lecture at a seminar here on "1857--India's Freedom Struggle Against Imperialism", Prof. Habib equated 1857 with the struggle against imperialism in Korea, and more recently in Iraq.

He condemned the Indian Government's stand on Iraq that the death sentence awarded to Saddam Hussein was an internal matter of that country. Prof. Habib said India at the same time did not hesitate to vote against Iran on the nuclear issue.

Referring to the Government's decision to celebrate 150 years of the First War of Independence of 1857 in 2007, Prof. Habib said no good would be served by spending crores on the celebrations until the Government works for the anti-colonial cause as was done in 1857. The noted historian said seminars and discourses would serve no purpose.