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Jayalalithaa urges PM to 'correct' textbook
Friday November 16, 2012 06:37:27 PM,
IANS
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Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Friday requested the
intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to remove
objectionable references to the Nadar community in the Class IX
social studies textbook of the NCERT.
In a letter to Singh, the text of which was released to the media
here, Jayalalithaa listed errors in the book, published by the
National Council of Education Research and Training.
The text of the letter reads: "May I, therefore, request you to
intervene in the matter and advise the concerned ministry to take
immediate action to remove the topic "Caste Conflict and Dress
Change" from Chapter VIII of the IX Std. Social Studies CBSE
(Central Board of Secondary Education) textbook published by the
National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi?"
According to her, the textbook contains derogatory statements
about the Nadars in Chapter VIII 'Clothing: A Social History'
under the sub-heading 'Transformation in Colonial India'.
Jayalalithaa said contrary to the information given in the text,
the Nadars are the original inhabitants of Kanyakumari district,
Tamil Nadu.
The textbook mentions that the Nadars were migrants who worked as
toddy tappers under Nair landlords. In a narrative compressed into
five paragraphs, the textbook also holds that the Nadar women,
like the Shanar caste women, only gained the right to cover their
torsos after a prolonged struggle. These are references that the
Tamil Nadu chief minister has taken umbrage to.
"The Kumari district is what remains of the sunken Kumari
continent which is the cradle of Tamil civilisation. This is
corroborated by the Tholkappiam and Silappathikaram (Tamil)
literatures. Two famous Tamil poets, namely, Tholkappiar and
Athanakottu Asan were born in this district. Moreover, the said
text has neglected the struggles of Aiyya Vaikundar in the "Upper
Cloth Revolt" and also his social reforms," she said.
She said the Nadars are said to be descendants of those who ruled
the Cheran, Cholan and Pandyan kingdoms.
According to her the traditions followed by the Nelamaikkarars (Nadars)
and the existence of the ruins beneath the Teri palmrya forests of
Tiruchendur and the Pandyan capital city of Korkai, where the
Nadar population is predominant, suggest they could very well be
the heirs of the early Pandyas.
Citing two inscriptions at Kallidaikurichi in the state that
suggest the Nadars served as administrators and accountants for
both the Chera and Pandya kings Jayalalithaa asserted that the
Nadar community is not a "lower caste," as mentioned in the NCERT
book.
Referring to strides made by Nadars in the fields of business,
education and leaders like K. Kamaraj belonging to the hardworking
community Jayalalithaa said: "The incorrect details given in the
textbook are very misleading and may leave a wrong impression in
the minds of the students about the said community."
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