Under Mulayam nose, textbook finds temple under Babri mosque

Mulayam Singh Yadav may be the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh but the history text book of Class XI in the state tells students that a Ram ...

Mulayam Singh Yadav may be the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh but the history text book of Class XI in the state tells students that a Ram temple lies under the remains of the Babri Masjid.

8216;8216;The place where Babri mosque is situated at present was the birth place of Shri Ram. A temple existed there for centuries which was disfigured by Babar to build the mosque at the same site. The mosque has now been razed while recovery of artifacts below that site during excavation has proved the existence of a temple at the site,8217;8217; says the history text, Bharat Ka Vrahad Ithihas, on page number 296.

The same book in its edition in 1990 did not have any such reference. The text was revised in 2003.

The All India Babri Masjid action Committee AIBMAC has written to the chief minister, asking him to revise the text. 8216;8216;We have demanded that the chief minister form a committee to look into the wrong representation of facts in history books. But nothing has happened so far and our students are forced to swallow wrong facts which smack of saffronisation of school books,8217;8217; Zafaryab Zilani, convenor of the AIBMAC and a member of the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board, told The Indian Express.

Zilani also sent a letter to the chief minister on July 12 on the issue.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court ordered the Archeological Survey of India ASI in 2002 to excavate around the site to determine if a temple existed there.

8216;8216;It appears that contents of the book have been changed in its edition for 2003 in the light of the artifacts recovered during excavation at the site. This must have been done at behest of the then BJP government at the Centre and also in the State. The Mulayam Singh Yadav government should take immediate action but it is shocking and surprising that nothing has been done so far,8217;8217; said Zilani. The issue has also been raised by Dini Talim Council and Minorities Educational Institutions Association.

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8216;8216;We have been told that some controversial references have been made in history text books but the government has yet to take a decision on the issue,8217;8217; said a secretary in the department of Secondary Education.

This is second time during the 11-month tenure of Mulayam Singh that he has incurred the wrath of Muslims, considered his primary votebank. During the Lok Sabha elections, community leaders had objected to an advertisement equating the chief minister with the grandson of the Prophet. He immediately withdrew the ads.