NCERT drops objectionable content against Sikh community from class 12 Political Science book
New Delhi, May 30: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has announced that objectionable content about the Sikh community has been removed from the CBSE political science textbook for Class 12 students. The portions were removed in view of the representation received from the stakeholders, particularly a letter from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and a recommendation of the expert group set up by NCERT.
Sanjay Kumar Secretary of School Education said that in the chapter of Political Science of Class 12 Punjab, there were two-three such lines in reference to which a letter was given by SGPC to NCERT Director and requested that some points related to Anandpur Saheb resolution should be changed and reconsider it.
"NCERT has its own procedure that when such a request is received, it forms a committee of exports and takes decisions based on the recommendations of that export committee. The SGPC says that it was written in the book that the Anandpur Sahib Resolution depicted that the Sikhs wanted a 'separate Sikh Nation' for themselves, objecting to that point because no such thing has been said in Anandpur Sahib Resolution", he further said.
School Education Secretary Kumar further informed that the NCERT's Export Committee researched the Anandpur Sahib Revolution on this point and made a recommendation to NCERT. Based on it, NCERT made some small changes to it and has now dropped it.
"On the basis of that minor change NCERT has issued Corrigendum to CBSE that the correction version should aware to teachers and also removed from digital books," he said.
According to NCERT, the experts' committee examined the matter and recommended that the following amendments be made to Chapter VII - Regional Aspirations (Rationalised Class XII Political Science Textbook-Pg. 123).
"From the last sentence of the third paragraph under the sub-heading 'Punjab' the line'...but it could also be interpreted as a plea for a separate Sikh nation' is dropped. Just before this line, the given statement is rewritten as 'The Resolution was a plea for strengthening federalism in India'. In the same section (Sub-heading 'Punjab'), from the last sentence of the fourth paragraph, '... and the creation of Khalistan' is dropped," NCERT stated.
- ANI
