Overview

• Bagade asserted that the 16th-century Akbarnama makes no reference to a royal marriage between Jodha Bai and Akbar and labeled popular retellings as unfounded
• He accused British historians of distorting India’s early history and warned that even later Indian accounts remained influenced by colonial narratives
• The governor argued that Akbar married a maid’s daughter from Raja Bharmal’s household rather than forging a formal alliance with Amer’s princess
• Bagade praised the National Education Policy for aiming to rebalance textbooks by placing greater emphasis on Maharana Pratap’s resistance and Shivaji Maharaj’s valor
• He highlighted Maharana Pratap’s refusal to compromise his self-respect, drew parallels with Shivaji, and noted the installation of a Maharana Pratap statue in Sambhajinagar