Stressing on the need to rewrite history from India's point of view, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said had it not been for Veer Savarkar, the First War of Independence in 1857 would have been regarded as a revolt.
His remarks came two days after the Maharashtra BJP unit said in its election manifesto that the party will ask the Centre to confer Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, on V D Savarkar.
"Had it not been Veer Savarkar, the 1857 'kranti' (war) would not have become history and we would have been seeing it from the British point of view," the home minister said.
"It was Savarkar who gave the name 'First War of Independence' to the 1857 'kranti' otherwise our children would have known it as a revolt," he said.
Shah inaugurated a two-day international seminar here on 'Guptvanshak-Veer: Skandgupta Vikramaditya' at the Banaras Hindu University.
Referring to eminent historians in the audience and on the dais, he said, "It is my request to all that there is a need to rewrite the Indian history from India's point of view but without blaming anyone."
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