Sonia raises ‘misogynistic’ passage in CBSE paper in Lok Sabha; seeks withdrawal, apology

Drawing the attention of the government to the “nationwide outrage regarding a shockingly regressive passage in the Reading Comprehension session of the Class X CBSE exams held on December 12”, Sonia said: “The passage contains atrocious statements such as ‘women gaining independence is the main reason for a wide variety of social and family problems’ and ‘wives stopped obeying their husbands and that is the main reason children and servants are indiscipline.’”

According to the Congress president, the entire passage “is riddled with such condemnable ideas and the questions that follow are equally nonsensical.”

Sonia urged the ministry of education and the CBSE to withdraw the passage immediately, issue an apology and conduct a thorough review into the “egregious lapse to ensure this is never repeated again.”

After Gandhi’s submission, the Opposition wanted the government to respond to it with a statement. The Congress MPs along with the DMK and Left parties were up on their feet immediately as Gandhi concluded her submission, seeking a response from the Treasury benches. The ministers, including Défense Minister Rajnath Singh, did not react to it and Speaker Om Birla said it was not a practice in the Lok Sabha to respond to the issues raised during Zero Hour. Then the Opposition – including the Congress, DMK and Left parties – walked out in protest.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also criticised the passage in question. “Most #CBSE papers so far were too difficult and the comprehension passage in the English paper was downright disgusting. Typical RSS-BJP ploys to crush the morale and future of the youth,” he tweeted. “Hard work pays. Bigotry doesn’t,” he added.

The Indian Express on Monday reported on the contentious closing paragraph of a comprehension passage that several students got in the English paper of their Term-1 Class X CBSE board exam Saturday, which has drawn criticism for being “retrograde” and offensive to women.

“What people were slow to observe was that the emancipation of the wife destroyed the parent’s authority over the children. The mother did not exemplify the obedience upon which she still tried to insist… In bringing the man down from his pedestal the wife and the mother deprived herself, in fact of the means of discipline,” the passage read.