Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that Indians suffered from an “inferiority complex” since they had been taught only “certain narratives” in the name of history.

His comments came as he made an outreach to the Sikh community, recalling the sacrifices of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons, which he said were inspired by “rashtra dharm (duty towards the nation)”.

The Prime Minister sought to draw a parallel between the sacrifices by Guru Gobind Singh’s sons and the values associated with Hindu religious icons like Ram and Krishna, as well as the BJP’s notions of nationalism. He excoriated Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for trying to convert the Gurus’ sons by “the power of the sword”.

Modi was speaking at the first Veer Bal Divas, designated by his government to pay homage to Guru Gobind Singh’s sons Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, who laid down their lives to defend their faith.

The Prime Minister had announced the initiative on January 9, Guru Gobind Singh’s birth anniversary. Modi on Monday castigated historians for failing to focus on the martyrdom in service of the nation, and stressed the need to break out of “narrow views” of the past.

“The Sahibzaades (the Guru’s sons) have inspired generations. A country that has such a history should be filled with confidence but, unfortunately, in the name of history we were taught only certain narratives that led to an inferiority complex among the people,” he said.

Modi added: “Aurangzeb and his people wanted to convert Guru Gobind Singh’s children by the power of the sword; that is why he decided to kill the two innocent children. Imagine that era when against the terror of Aurangzeb, against his plans to change India, Guru Gobind Singhji stood like a mountain.

“The tradition of Sikh Gurus is not only about faith and spiritualism. It’s also an inspiration for Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat (One India, Great India). It’s about nation first and duty towards the nation.”

The Prime Minister said that very few among the current generation knew about the sacrifices of the Sahibzaades and stressed that observing December 26 as Veer Bal Divas was an effort by his government to correct the mistakes of decades.

He said that youths from Kerala to the Northeast would learn about the martyrdom of the Sahibzaades because of his government’s efforts. Modi asserted that like the Sahibzaades, the traditions of Ram, Luv-Kush and Krishna upheld the values of the nation. He said the youth of the country should see the Guru’s sons as “role models”.

The Prime Minister’s remarks were consistent with the efforts he and his party have made in recent times to bring the minority Sikh community under the wider Hindutva umbrella.

The BJP would like to gain a foothold in the border state of Punjab where its presence has been negligible despite its domination over vast stretches of northern and western India.