History Distortion

History distortion refers to the changing, misrepresenting, or ignoring of real events, people, and contributions related to the Rajput community in Indian history. Known for their bravery, kingship, and long resistance against foreign invaders, Rajputs have often been central to India's medieval history. However, over time, key parts of their story have been removed, altered, or reassigned to other communities in textbooks, popular media, and political narratives.

This distortion has occurred due to various factors — including colonial-era biases, post-independence political agendas, caste-based politics, and modern identity movements. Political parties like the BJP and Congress, as well as social and ideological groups such as the RSS and Arya Samaj, have all played roles in reshaping how Rajput history is presented.

In many cases, prominent Rajput rulers have been wrongly portrayed as belonging to other communities, leading to growing public opposition and calls for historical correction.

Notable Example of Rajput History Distortion

Year	Incident	Nature of Distortion	By Whom	Organization	Location
May 2025	Statue Innauguration of Rana Punja Bhil	Rebranding Rana Punja Solanki as Bhil Tribe	Bhajanlal Sharma - Chief Minister of Rajasthan	BJP	Rajasthan
2025	Panchjanya (RSS magazine) published an article claiming that Rana Sanga was a traitor who invited Babur to India.	False accusation, historically inaccurate claim that distorts Rana Sanga’s role in Indian history. In reality, Daulat Khan Lodi invited Babur.	Panchjanya (RSS magazine)	RSS	-
March 2025	During a Rajya Sabha session, SP MP Ramji Lal Suman labeled Rana Sanga, the historic ruler of Mewar, as a traitor.	Historical defamation—slandering a revered Rajput king who led major resistance against foreign invaders like Babur.	Ramji Lal Suman (MP)	Samajwadi Party	Uttar Pradesh
January 2025	CM Yogi Adityanath labeled Durgadas Rathore, a revered Rajput warrior of Marwar, as Teli caste.	Caste falsification, misrepresenting the lineage of one of the most celebrated Rajput defenders of Hindustan.	Yogi Adityanath - Chief Minister (Uttar Pradesh)	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
December 2024	During an event in Sikar, Union Cabinet Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal allegedly made a contentious remark about Meera Bai and her brother-in-law.	Cultural distortion, disrespectful or inaccurate portrayal of Rajput saint Meera Bai and her royal family ties.	Arjun Ram Meghwal - Union Cabinet Minister	BJP	Rajasthan
October 2024	Statue of Samrat Harshavardhan Bais was removed from the Kumbh region, despite him being the emperor who initiated the Kumbh Mela tradition.	Erasure of contribution, removal of a historical figure’s statue linked to the origin of a major cultural event.	Uttar Pradesh Government	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
September 2024	UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya claimed in a speech that Major Dhyan Chand was a Kushwaha.	Caste misrepresentation of Major Dhyanchand (Bais Rajput) to gain votes from Kushwaha community, wrongly attributing caste identity, ignoring documented personal and biographical records.	Keshav Prasad Maurya - Deputy CM, Uttar Pradesh	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
September 2024	Kota Development Authority (KDA) demolished a 600-year-old cenotaph of Rao Surajmal Hada, former ruler of Bundi, causing damage to his statue and stone inscription.	Heritage erasure—destruction of historically significant Rajput monument, leading to loss of cultural memory and inscriptions.	Kota Development Authority (KDA), Rajasthan	BJP	Rajasthan
2024	Road Signboard of Gujjar Samrat Mihir Bhoj	Rebranding Mihir Bhoj (Pratihar Rajput) as a Gujjar king	Dr. Somendra Tomar - Minister of State for Energy (Uttar Pradesh)	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
March 2024	During the 2024 general election campaign, BJP minister Shubhkaran Choudhary gave a speech defaming the Rajput community with negative stereotypes.	Character assassination, use of derogatory language and political narrative to vilify a historical warrior community and gain votebank.	Shubhkaran Choudhary - MLA (Udaipurwati)	BJP	Rajasthan
March 2024	Union Minister Purushottam Rupala made a controversial statement claiming that Rajput rulers apologized to Muslim rulers to save their kingdoms, while Backward castes and Dalits never bowed down, sparking nationwide outrage and protests from Rajput organizations.	Historical distortion and vilification—falsely portraying Rajput rulers as submissive, ignoring centuries of documented resistance against invasions.	Parshottam Rupala - Member of the Lok Sabha	BJP	Gujarat
2024	Inauguration of Gurjar Gallery in Noida, presenting historical Rajput figures like Samrat Mihir Bhoj etc as Gujjars.	Systematic distortion, government-backed cultural project misrepresenting Rajput icons to rewrite history.	Dr. Mahesh Sharma - MP (Gautambuddh Nagar, UP)	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
October 2023	Unveiled a statue and park of Mihir Bhoj as Gujjar Samrat.	Historical distortion, publicly presenting a well-documented Rajput emperor as Gujjar for political or caste-based motives.	Joginder Singh Awana - (State President, RLD -Rajasthan) Ex MLA (Nadbai)	RLD/BJP	Rajasthan
July 2023	BJP ministers, under tight security, unveiled a statue of Samrat Mihir Bhoj, labeling him as Gujjar.	Historical appropriation, misrepresenting identity of a documented historical Rajput emperor for caste politics.	Leela Ram Gurjar (MLA, Kaithal) Kanwar Pal Gurjar (Cabinet Minister, Haryana)	BJP	Haryana
June 2022	Rajput community members attempted to inaugurate a statue of Prithviraj Chauhan, but Sukirti Madhav, allegedly threatened legal action against them. Heavy police deployment followed to prevent the event.	Suppression of cultural assertion, opposition and legal intimidation against public recognition of a historical Rajput figure.	Sukirti Madhav Mishra - IPS	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
May 2023	BJP's official social media handle posted Alha-Udal as belonging to the 'ahir' caste, just before the elections to gain votebank.	Caste distortion, false caste attribution of well-known Rajput warriors for political or social realignment.	BJP Official Social Media Handle.	BJP	-
August 2022	Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, backed by RSS, released a magazine during Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav highlighting tribal warriors, including Rana Punja as Bhil, Rani Durgavati as Gond, and others.	Historical appropriation, reframing or reclassifying figures with Rajput lineage into tribal/ST identity to align with a new socio-political narrative.	Arjun Munda (Union Minister) Indresh Kumar -National Executive member (RSS)	Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram/RSS	-
March 2022	Former North MCD Mayor Jai Prakash inaugurated a statue of Durgadas Rathore, falsely referring to him as belonging to the Teli caste, in an attempt to appease that community politically.	Caste distortion—falsifying the caste identity of a well-documented Rajput warrior for political and vote-bank motives.	Jai Prakash (Former Mayor, North MCD, Delhi)	BJP	Delhi
November 2021	Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam, under Mayor Asha Sharma, unveiled a statue of Samrat Mihir Bhoj referring to him as a Gujjar king.	Caste distortion, mislabeling a widely documented Rajput emperor as Gujjar in a public installation.	Asha Sharma - Mayor (Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam)	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
September 2021	CM Yogi Adityanath unveiled a statue of Samrat Mihir Bhoj as Gujjar at Dadri, UP under high security, sparking protests by Rajput organizations.	Historical distortion, misrepresenting a prominent Rajput emperor as Gujjar, despite inscriptions and records confirming his Rajput lineage.	Yogi Adityanath - Chief Minister (Uttar Pradesh)	BJP	Uttar Pradesh
September 2021	Ch. Virendra Singh unveiled a statue of Samrat Mihir Bhoj as Gujjar in Saharanpur, near Khanpur.	Historical distortion, misrepresenting a prominent Rajput emperor as Gujjar, despite inscriptions and records confirming his Rajput lineage.	Choudhary Virendra Singh (Cabinet Minister)	BJP	Uttarakhand
April 2021	Gulab Chand Kataria sparked controversy with remarks on warrior king Maharana Pratap.	Disrespect toward historical legacy, undermining the stature of a national hero.	Gulab Chand Kataria (Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan)	BJP	Rajasthan
September 2019	Unveiled a statue of Samrat Mihir Bhoj as Gujjar.	Historical distortion, misrepresenting a prominent Rajput emperor as Gujjar, despite inscriptions and records confirming his Rajput lineage.	Yogi Adityanath (Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh) Ashutosh Tandon (Former Minister of Urban Development) Dinesh Khatik (MLA, Hastinapur) Swami Karamveer Maharaj	BJP	Uttar Pradesh

Politics and Social Organizations

The portrayal of Rajput history has been deeply influenced by political parties and social groups. Over the years, different organizations have either highlighted or altered Rajput narratives to serve ideological or political goals.

History Distortion by the BJP

• Focus on glorifying selected rulers like Maratha or Peshwa, often prioritizing certain figures while sidelining many Rajput dynasties.
• Many BJP-led politcians misattributed Rajput ruler like Samrat Mihir Bhoj Pratihar, Rana Punja Solanki, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Anangpal Tomar, Porus Katoch, Suhaldev Bais, Rani Durgavati, Alha Udal e.t.c as belonging to non-Rajput communities.
• In recent years, statue politics has become common, where historical figures are reinterpreted based on current political needs.

History Distortion by the RSS

• Despite being the largest Hindu organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has not actively promoted Rajput history. Instead, it has focused heavily on Maratha icons, especially Shivaji, and attempted to present them as pan-Indian symbols of Hindu resistance.
• The official RSS magazine, Panchjanya, has at times published controversial views, including labeling Rajputs as “traitors”, which sparked strong backlash from Rajput organizations.
• The RSS’s promotion of a broad Hindu identity often resulted in recasting Rajput warriors as belonging to other communities, especially when it aligned with vote bank strategies or regional politics.

Role of Arya Samaj

• In the late 19th and early 20th century, Arya Samaj played a major role in the Sanskritization of Indian society.
• One major outcome was caste upliftment, where several communities redefined their social identities. For example, during the late 1990s, the Ahir community began to adopt the identity of Yadavs, claiming Yaduvanshi (descent from Lord Krishna) lineage. This shift was influenced by both Arya Samaj and later supported by Hindu nationalist networks.
• While Arya Samaj worked to reform society, it caused historical misclassification, particularly around community identities.