Noted historian and former general secretary of Itihas Sankalan Yojna, Dr Rajendra Singh Kushwaha passed away in New Delhi on July 28. He was 84. He was unwell for the last three years. Presently, he was member of the Akhil Bharatiya Margdarshak Mandal of Itihas Sankalan Yojna. Born on August 19, 1929, Kushwahaji did MA in Hindi and PhD from Agra University. He did MA English from Delhi University. After his retirement in 1990 from his job in Mauritius, he entirely dedicated himself to the task of Indian history. He then came in the contact of the then RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Rajju Bhaiya, who introduced him to veteran Sangh Pracharak Shri Moropant Pingle, founder of the Itihas Sankalan Yojna. In the beginning Kushwahaji was made a member of the editorial team of Itihas Darpan. After some time he left the family life and shifted to Baba Saheb Apte Smarak Bhavan, Keshav Kunj. He was then given the responsibility of general secretary of Itihas Sankalan Yojna and he held this responsibility for 11 years.
Kushwahaji had deep study of Indian Rajputs tradition. He made concrete efforts to collect information about how Hindu resisted Muslim onslaughts for centuries. His work on Indian history is reflected in his book, Glimpses of Indian History. In the beginning of the book itself, he challenged the western calendar and scientifically proved how scientific is the Indian traditional calendar. It led to new debate on this issue. He tried to create a new model of Indian history and challenged with facts the model of history created by western historians. 1857 ka Mahasamar was his last book published in 2009. Dr Kushwaha edited this 600 pages book. A condolence meeting was organised in New Delhi on July 29. In his tribute RSS Sahsarkaryavah Shri Suresh Soni described Kushwahaji a modern Dadhichi, who dedicated his life and might to rewriting the glorious history of Bharat. “He earned high respect due to his deep knowledge of Indian history and also dedication to the work. There are many works, which he could not finish. It is the responsibility of all us to finish those works,” he said. Noted historian Shri Devendra Swarup also paid tribute to the departed soul. (FOC)
