Continuous reassessment, reappraisal of historical figures and developments have become a part and parcel of intellectual discourse in modern, 21st century democracies. The explosion in internet and social media-based communication, the easy access to historical knowledge through the words and works of living and dead historians have contributed in no small measure to our understanding of the past. Of course, this has also contributed to the rise in partisanship and fake news, but as Karnataka CM Siddaramiah and Congress party in the state are finding out, there is no substitute for sound historical knowledge when it comes to countering selective, false historical propaganda.We will know by May next year whether Mr Siddaramiah is able to retain his chief ministership and the Congress will be successful in its efforts to retain its last big state. If Mr Siddaramiah loses, a good chunk of credit should go to the people who successfully countered his duplicitous agenda behind the Tipu Jayanti celebrations which he has been holding for two years and now, and with which he hopes to grab a greater share of the minority vote.Tipu’s exposure as a radical, Islamic bigot who pillaged, raped and forcibly converted people and destroyed communities would not have been possible without the work of historians, intellectuals and the extensive platform presented by social media. By successfully foiling Congress’s grand agenda, they have made things difficult for the CM who now has to placate angry majority community members in key parts of the state.While CM Siddaramiah is getting eviscerated over his decision to stick to the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, another controversy has erupted over the importance or relevance of the Taj Mahal to Indians. BJP MLA from Meerut Sangeet Som set the cat among the pigeons when he opposed the Taj Mahal on the grounds that it was built by a man who imprisoned his father and wanted to wipe out the Hindus. Other BJP leaders, local and national, also chimed in claiming that Taj was not important and that the land on which it was built was bought fradulently from the Jaipur Maharaja.The liberal Left outrage was not long in coming. Free speech warriors who used to loudly proclaim from the rooftops that PM Modi’s BJP government was stifling freedom of speech now attacked the same freedom exercised by Mr Som and other party leaders. The BJP, they said, was showing contempt for national heritage and the bogey about Hindu fundamentalism and ‘Abrahamic Hindutva’ (whatever that means!) predictably raised its head. However, the Left is on a weak wicket here. Mr Som and others were speaking as individual membes and leaders. It is not the voice of the party or the government and the chief minister Yogi Adityanath, whatever his views on the issue may have been in the past, came forth to declare that protecting and taking care of the Taj was the UP government’s top priority. I don’t agree with Mr Som.The Taj Mahal is a cherished national monument and we must preserve it. But Mr Som and other BJP leaders have every right to express their views even at the cost of displeasing others. Free speech warriors who support actor Vijay’s attack on GST in Tamil movie Mersal and Gurmehar Kaur’s outspokenness cannot suddenly go silent just because an ideological opponent has said something they consider distasteful.The Taj and to some extent, the Padmavati controversies have managed to focus attention on the state of the country and rule of the Islamic invaders in the 800-year period till Bahadur Shah Zafar. Rather than throwing unwelcome spotlight on the BJP and its ideology, the controversies have instead revived reports about the barbaric nature of Mughal rule, the fradulent and unjust use of jiziya, the forceful conversions and the brutal way in which the many rulers treated the Hindus.Twitter handles like @TrueIndology have done tremendous work in exposing the horrors of this centuries-long misrule and the Taj controversy has only served to remind people of just how brutally the local Hindu population was treated. The Americans continue to debate elements of their racist past even today. South Africa set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid ended.Why can’t we have such a debate on the horrors of Islamic invasion and the Mughal past? Why can't we do this in a dispassionate manner freed from partisanship and political vendetta? The objective should not be to hound innocent Muslims of today for what their ancestors did centuries ago but it should be done to remove the cobwebs of history and better understand our own past. Historical reappraisals should be a continuous process. The Left may not want it fearing a repeat of the Tipu fiasco but it is necessary if we need to understand ourselves as acivlisation and the processes that may have contributed to communal divide and rancour.DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.