PM’s wisdom: change history books if one-sided

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PM's wisdom: change history if it's one-sided

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

 

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 24: A day after the Government

defended its decision to delete ``anti-Brahmin'' references in

history textbooks claiming that it was only fixing ``factual errors

and colouration,'' Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee himself

justified the move.

 

And rejecting the Opposition charge of Talibanisation of

education by his government, he said, ``If history is one-sided,

we should change it.'' And added that the Government was

``ready for a full-scale debate.''

 

Vajpayee was responding to queries from reporters at a lunch

hosted by BJP spokesperson Vijay Kumar Malhotra where he

spent considerable time studying a document handed over to

him by Malhotra.

 

It was a copy of the notification issued by the Congress

government of Delhi, banning certain passages of a history book

by Satish Chandra which had offended the Sikhs. According to

this passage, which makes it clear that it's based on primary

texts and that it's difficult to get to the truth given the conflicting

versions, Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur had resorted to ``plunder and

rapine in Punjab.''

 

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Forum for Education and Culture

has strongly ``condemned the communalisation of education.''

Addressing the recent controversy, convenor of the Forum and

Congress MP, Eduardo Faleiro, said that the bone of contention

was the ``procedure adopted'' by the CBSE.

 

``History is a sensitive and a selective subject. It is difficult to

decide what should be written and what must be edited out. But

this process has to be transparent. If something hurts the

sentiments of a certain community then let us reexamine it but

not do it in this clandestine fashion,'' said Faleiro.

 

The MP from Goa also said that certain groups have an ideology

of ``one nation, one people, one culture.'' But the fact was that

India had a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic composition. ``We must

respect that and build on that, instead of rewriting textbooks. The

purpose of education is, finally, to develop the critical faculties of

the student. How can one do that without discussion and

debate?'' Faleiro asked.

 

 

Faleiro said that the CBSE directive was a soft way of

encouraging ``an intolerant, medieval, regressive outlook.''

 

 

Defending one of the four authors, whose books have suffered

the CBSE's blue pencil, Faleiro said that he knew Satish

Chandra (Medieval India, class XI) who had no communal or

political leanings. ``Professor Chandra's interest are most

secular. How can anyone even doubt him?'' the MP queries.

 

A five-member committee, consisting of Congressmen, formed

in October 2001, will look into the latest issue. The committee,

with ND Tiwari, Manmohan Singh, Faleiro, Mani Shankar Aiyer

and Salman Khursheed, will look into this matter. The committee

was originally formed to develop strategy to deal with issues and

problems in the field of education.

 

The Forum has also written a letter to Vajpayee, regarding the

appointment of Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru

University.

 

Fifty-four MPs have signed the letter asking the Prime

Minister to ensure the speedy selection of the Vice-Chancellor,

who is not ``sympathetic to the Sangh Parivar'' but someone with

``intellectual prominence and academic and personal integrity.''