New Delhi: Former Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday asserted that Urdu is an Indian language and did not originate outside the country, while recalling the education reforms undertaken during the NDA government led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Addressing a public gathering, Joshi said, "Urdu is a language of our country; it did not come from outside."
He further said that during the Vajpayee government, the Centre wanted Muslims to read the Quran in Urdu instead of Arabic.
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Reflecting on his tenure as Human Resource Development Minister, Joshi said earlier versions of Indian history contained several inaccuracies. He claimed that the Vedas had been wrongly interpreted as endorsing meat consumption and that the Aryans had incorrectly been described as migrants from outside India. He also said his ministry had presented evidence regarding the ancient Saraswati River.
Joshi also noted that both India's national anthem and Bangladesh's national anthem were written by Rabindranath Tagore. He described Sanatan Dharma as the world's oldest religion and said there is ultimately only one religion.
Referring to the village associated with Adi Shankaracharya, Joshi claimed that much of the land there is owned by Christians and urged Indian businesspersons to purchase land in the village.
Drawing a comparison with Mecca and Vatican City, he said the village of Shankaracharya should similarly preserve its religious character.
