NO LESSON IN TOLERANCE

The Kerala Government on Thursday decided to remove certain controversial portions from class VII social science textbook in a bid to end the raging textbook controversy in the state.

The Kerala Government on Thursday decided to remove certain controversial portions from class VII social science textbook in a bid to end the raging textbook controversy in the state. Simultaneously, the state Government also ruled out withdrawal of the textbook, a demand made by the Congress-led Opposition. This political and religious debate is only the latest addition to an eventful history of textbook controversies that have plagued the country time and again. Here8217;s a look at some recent ones:

8226;JUNE 2008: Religious leaders and the opposition parties in Kerala go up in arms and the state witnesses widespread agitations over the contents of a chapter entitled Life without religion in class VII social science book. The ruling LDF is accused of attempting to spread communism and atheism among the students.

8226;JUNE 2008: The Goa Government withdraws two NCERT textbooks 8212; History and Hindi 8212; after objections raised by anti-tobacco groups and NGOs over numerous factual errors in the textbooks, in addition to the picture of a French commander smoking.

8226;JUNE 2008: In its efforts to modify academic curriculum, as part of the National Curriculum Framework, the NCERT replaces a class VIII book on the biography of Gautam Buddha written by Ashvaghosh, Buddhacharita, with Jawaharlal Nehru8217;s Bharat Ek Khoj. Buddhist and SC/ST organisations consider this a sign of disrespect and an attempt to moot the 8220;Nehru/Gandhi-centric vision8221;, to replace 8220;literature8221; with 8220;history8221;.

8226;MARCH 2008: The BJP raises hue and cry over the essay, Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation, by A K Ramanujan as part of the Delhi university8217;s Bachelor of Arts BA programme and considers it 8220;an attempt to denigrate the Ramayana and create serious doubts about the existence of Ram, Sita and Laxman8221;.

8226;2007: Protests in Uttar Pradesh over controversial content regarding sex education. The state Government withdraws the book from curriculum.

8226;2006: NCERT8217;s decision to introduce topics such as the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Ayodhya dispute and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in class XII political science textbook is seen as an attempt by the UPA Government to propagate the 8220;Congress8217; agenda8221;, and portraying the Narendra Modi government in a bad light.

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8226;2006: The BJP is severely critical of the textbook, Modern Indian History, by Bipin Chandra, reintroduced by the NCERT, which describes Jats as lutera or looters, and Lokmanya Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal as terrorists.

8226;2004: The newly elected UPA Government8217;s efforts to modify NCERT textbooks for classes VI and VII is seen by the BJP as an attempt to 8220;distort8221; history and especially to give a 8220;false account8217; of Sikhism.

8226;2004: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi alleges that the deletion of the word 8220;Gujarat8221; from the national anthem printed in the class IX textbook by the Kerala Education Department was a deliberate 8220;mischief8221;.

8226;2004: Controversy erupts in Gujarat over the glorification of Nazism and the Holocaust in social studies textbooks for classes IX and X.

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8226;2002: NCERT is in the midst of controversies after its class XII history textbook does not mention the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, and there8217;s an 8220;exaggerated8221; reference to Vedic civilisation.