‘No want to show about riots, demolition’: NCERT chief on Babri Masjid tweaks in textbooks | India Information

NEW DELHI: NCERT‘s director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said on Sunday that teaching about riots in school textbooks would not have a “positive” impact on the citizens and create “violent and depressed individuals”. He was referring to the changes made regarding chapters based on Gujarat riots and Babri masjid demolition.
In an interview to PTI, Saklani said, “Why should we teach about riots in school textbooks? We want to create positive citizens not violent and depressed individuals”.
Saklani’s remarks got here after the discharge of up to date textbooks that characteristic quite a few omissions and alterations. The revised Class 12 political science textbook describes the Babri Masjid as a “three-domed structure” and has lowered the Ayodhya part from 4 pages to 2. It has additionally eliminated particular particulars that had been current within the earlier model of the textbook.
The current revisions within the textbooks contain eradicating references to BJP’s ‘rath yatra’ from Somnath to Ayodhya in Gujarat, the involvement of ‘kar sevaks’ and communal unrest following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the imposition of President’s rule in BJP-governed states, and the BJP’s assertion expressing remorse concerning the occasions in Ayodhya.
‘What is wrong about changes?’
Responding to allegations of saffronisation in curriculum and textbooks, Saklani stated, “If something has become outdated, it should be updated. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be changed. I don’t see this as saffronisation. We teach history to provide students with factual knowledge, not to turn it into a battleground.”
Speaking concerning the deletions made in textbooks that embody position of ‘kar sevaks’ in Babri Masjid demolition, Saklani stated, “If Supreme Court has given a verdict in favour of Ram temple, Babri masjid or Ram janmabhoomi, should it not be included in our textbooks, what is the problem in that? We have included the new updates.”
If we’ve got constructed new Parliament, ought to our college students not learn about it. It’s our obligation to incorporate the traditional developments and up to date developments,” he added.
“There are no attempts to saffronise curriculum, everything is based on facts and evidence,” he stated.
‘No attempts to saffronisecurriculum’
Concerning accusations of saffronisation within the curriculum and textbooks, the 61-year-old advised PTI, “If something has lost relevance, it should be updated. Why shouldn’t it? I don’t see any agenda here. Our goal in teaching history is to educate students with factual information, not to turn it into a contentious issue.”
“If we are telling about Indian Knowledge System, how can it be saffronisation? If we are telling about iron pillar in Mehrauli and saying Indians were way ahead of any metallurigical scientist, are we saying wrong? How can it be saffronisation?”, he added.
‘We want to create positive citizens’
Advised that there’s not the identical stage of outcry concerning the absence of the 1984 riots from textbooks, Saklani stated, “Should we teach our students in a manner that they become offensive, create hatred in society or become victim of hatred? Is that education’s purpose? Should we teach about riots to such young children … when they grow up, they can learn about it but why school textbooks.”
“Let them understand what happened and why it happened when they grow up. The hue and cry about the changes is irrelevant,” he added.

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