Author: Our Staff Reporter
Publication: The Hindu
Date: March 12, 2003
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/03/12/stories/2003031202540400.htm
The Minister of State for Primary
Education, B.K.Chandrashekar, today told the Legislative Council that a
committee of experts had been constituted to go into social science textbooks
up to Standard 10, which created confusion in the minds of students about
history.
Replying to G.Madhusudan and K.Balakrishna
Bhat (both BJP), the minister referred to social science textbooks for
standard 5 and 6 in which there was a reference to studying the Vedas.
The minister said the authorities had been advised to replace it with "study
religious scriptures". In another lesson, it was said: "There was an ancient
temple at the place where Mecca is now situated from where the idols were
removed." The authorities had been told to rewrite it to state "there was
a place of worship before". Similarly, the minister said it was not right
to say that the Ottoman Turks' invasion of India led to the spread of Islam
in the country. There was nothing wrong in saying that this invasion led
to the death of people, he added. But he did not agree that Timur Lang,
who invaded India, was a Muslim. The minister said that Muslims should
not be equated with Moghuls. Such an interpretation would only create confusion.
At the Education Ministers' Conference convened by the Union Human Resource
Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, he had sought an explanation on the factual
position about writing history books, but Mr. Joshi did not react.
Mr. Madhusudan wanted to have his
say when the minister mentioned the destruction of the famous Nalanda University.
But the Chairman, B.L.Shankar, advised him not to stretch the question
as Question Hour was coming to an end. But Mr. Bhat questioned the need
for printing a colour picture of Isaac Newton on the front page, relegating
the pictures of Indian scientists to the back of the book. Should not the
Government highlight the achievements of scientists who worked in NASA,
ISRO, and those who did research on the detection of the mythological Saraswati
River?, he asked. Agreeing with the suggestion, the minister said India
produced Narlikar, Nobel Prize winners such as C.V.Raman and Chandrasekhar,
and the former Scientific Adviser to the Union Government, C.N.R.Rao, had
been short-listed for Nobel Prize.
