Those outside 'family' were erased from public memory: Narendra Modi

AHMEDABAD: Remembering Maulana Azad and Acharya Kriplani on their birth anniversary, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said that there are historical figures who have been erased from public memory just because they did not belong to a particular family.

"It is true that there are historical figures who have been erased from public memory just because they did not belong to a particular family," Modi wrote on his blog on the occasion of Acharya Kripalani and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's 125th birth anniversary.

Taking a dig at dynastic politics, Modi asked, "Just because they did not belong to a particular family, should we erase them from public memory or remember them less?"

The history of India is the history or the struggle of countless men and women who devoted a lifetime to the clarion call of the motherland, he further wrote on his blog.

Modi's comments regarding the two freedom fighters comes amidst the raging controversy between Congress and BJP on claiming legacy of stalwart freedom fighter Sardar Patel.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Modi had sparred over the legacy of Sardar at a public function here recently.

"Much has been made of our efforts to commemorate various historical figures, who have either been completely ignored or have not been adequately remembered in the history books," Modi said.

Paying tributes to Azad, who was India's first education minister, Modi wrote "Maulana Azad will also be remembered for his steadfast opposition to partition of India. In 1912, he started the paper 'Al-Hilal', which did not hesitate from attacking the colonial rulers."

On Kripalani, Modi wrote "He was a man of deep principles and a commitment to serve the poorest of the poor. Acharya Kripalani embraced Mahatma Gandhi's leadership during the Champaran Satyagraha."