Congress On Sunday slammed BJP for allegedly ‘erasing’ the name of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru from the social science textbooks for class VIII in the schools of Rajasthan.
“This is taking saffronisation to the next level. The BJP’s ideological bankruptcy has stooped to such levels that it is erasing the country’s first Prime Minister from school history books. But they should know that this does not mean they can erase Nehru’s memory and his contribution from the nation’s collective conscience. We will oppose this attempt to alter the nation’s history,” he said in a statement.
The new social science textbook for class VIII in the schools of Rajsathan has erased Nehru from the pages of history.
According to reports, the textbook, which is not yet available in the market but has been uploaded by the publisher Rajasthan Rajya Pathyapustak Mandal – http://www.rstbraj.in, features Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Veer Savarkar, Bhagat Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and revolutionary Hemu Kalani.
However, there is no mention of Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Madan Mohan Malviya or other fredom fighters.
Interestingly, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination by Nathu Ram Godse has also be ommitted.
The revision of the textbook has been carried out as part of ‘curriculum re-structuring’ by the State Institute of Education Research and Training (SIERT).
Additionally, Mughal emperor Akbar would no longer be called “Akbar the Great”. The suffix ‘great’ would instead be used for Maharana Pratap.
The changes have been made in the Class VII textbook for medieval history.