New Delhi, July 28: Prodded by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the human resource development ministry has asked the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan schools to organise events to honour Tamil king Rajendra Chola I as a great Indian hero.

Several historians welcomed the move saying it could help correct the relative neglect of south Indian history in school curricula.

A Sangh release last October had highlighted the 1,000th year of the AD 1014 coronation of Rajendra, whose empire stretched from Bengal to India's southern tip, covered the whole of Sri Lanka and extended up to Indonesia.

This month, the ministry asked the Sangathan, which runs nearly 1,100 schools, to celebrate the millennial anniversary in a fitting manner.

V. Vijayalakshmi, joint commissioner of the Sangathan, has asked its regional offices to get their schools to organise events "so that children of new generation are inspired by the legacy of rich history of the country they belong to".

Sources said the schools will hold debates and art and painting contests.

Hari Vasudevan, a history professor at Calcutta University, lauded the move and said other Indian heroes or kingdoms with Southeast Asia links should not be left out.

"Odisha has been celebrating its maritime traditions with Southeast Asian countries. Bengal had a long trade tradition with the region," he said.

The October Sangh statement had said that trade, architecture and sculpture, as well as other forms of art and culture had flourished under Rajendra I, who was also known for his efficient administration and well-organised military.

Saradindu Mukherji, a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research, said: "If the government is giving due prominence to long-lost heroes of the country, it's a good and timely move."

He said the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks should have more on south Indian history.

Anirban Ganguly, director of the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, a BJP think-tank, said the Indian Ocean was once known as the Chola Lake.

"The entire Strait of Malacca was under the Chola empire. The Cholas have been ignored in history books," Ganguly said.

The Narendra Modi government released a postage stamp on Rajendra I in March this year.

Vasudevan, a former chairperson of the NCERT's textbook development committee on history, denied that the books lacked enough content on south Indian history.

"The textbooks written under UPA rule gave more attention to ancient India, particularly the history of south India," he said. "History textbooks prepared under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had just one section titled 'Heritage' on ancient India."

Vasudevan said Indians had established their presence in Southeast Asia not through conquests but through cultural and trade links.

The Sangh release had said that several majestic temples and stupas had been built in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia during Rajendra's rule.