SFI Himachal Pradesh University unit submitted a memorandum to the Director of Education
SFI Himachal Pradesh University unit submitted a memorandum to the Director of Higher Education (HP) and Director of Elementary Education (HP) in protest against the saffronisation of NCERT textbooks and tampering with history by the Central Government.
SFI Himachal Pradesh University unit president Santosh Kumar said that we strongly condemn the recent changes made by the BJP-led government in the Class 12 political science textbook of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The term “Babri Masjid” has been replaced with “three-domed structure”, which is completely at variance with historical facts. Moreover, other details contradicting the Sangh Parivar narrative have been deliberately omitted.
The old textbook gave a clear account of the history of the Babri Masjid, stating that it was built in the 16th century by Mir Baqi, a general of the Mughal emperor Babur. However, the new textbook presents a distorted version, stating only that a three-domed structure was built in 1528 at the birthplace of Lord Ram, and that it contained deities in the form of worship. This is a blatant attempt to rewrite history and promote a biased narrative. Sections describing the Rath Yatra led by Sangh Parivar forces and the communal riots that followed have been removed, as well as a clear description of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. A four-page section has been condensed to just two pages, a clear indication of NCERT’s attempts to sanitise the history of the event. These textbooks are used in schools under the CBSE curriculum, which means students are being fed a distorted version of history. The demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992 was a tragic event that was the culmination of sustained hate propaganda and communal riots. The issue was used by the BJP to create polarisation and come to power. Last year, due to continued political tampering with textbooks, NCERT also removed sections from Class 11 and 12 textbooks that discussed Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts to promote Hindu-Muslim unity and the ban on the RSS after Gandhi’s assassination. Sections on reforms during Mughal rule and the contributions of freedom fighter and educationist Maulana Abul Kalam Azad were also removed. Chapters on democracy, secularism, mass movements and pluralism were also removed from the Class 10 textbook.
SFI Himachal Pradesh University unit demands that NCERT restore the original textbooks and not compromise the integrity of the educational curriculum. We urge the students of India not to fall into the trap laid by the Sangh Parivar and resist the attempts to saffronise the curriculum. We will continue to fight for the right to learn about the complex and diverse history of our country in an honest and unbiased manner. We appeal to all our units to educate students with an unbiased version of history and oppose all forms of saffronisation of education by the BJP-led Central Government.
