New Delhi: Two days after the reports surfaced that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has removed some references to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from Class 11 book, outrage and anger against the apex body that designs curriculum has only become stronger.
Maulana Azad, a distinguished scholar, writer, author and one of the front leaders of India’s Freedom Struggle, was the country’s first education minister.
As Education Minister, Maulana Azad laid the foundation of independent India’s education policy, and was the brain behind the establishment of UGC and the chain of IITs that we see today.
The NCERT has however revised the Class 11 Political Science book, omitting his name earlier mentioned along with Nehru, Rajendra Prasad and Sardar Patel.
“Atrocious. Unacceptable. Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was a preeminent freedom fighter. Netaji ’s INA had an ‘Azad Brigade’ of guerrilla fighters. Served as India’s first education minister laying the foundations that produced some of the world’s finest minds”, Sitaram Yechuri, CPI (M) leader and former union minister wrote on Twitter.
“Outrageous to delete any reference to Maulana Azad from school text books. Such vengeful rewriting of history to create a false narrative to further the RSS fascistic ideological project destroys the foundations of Modern India inevitably negating all civilisational advances”, he wrote in another tweet.
The Congress too lashed out at the government saying there is a concerted attempt to "re-write" history and pass on a "distorted legacy built on lies".
“In the NCERT class 11 book of political science, Maulana Azad's name has been unceremoniously deleted which is a huge travesty of history, his name, stature, personality and contribution”, Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit told reporters.
"The Congress Party condemns it in the strongest possible words. Maulana Azad was the first education minister of India, and look at this irony that the first education minister who laid the foundations of a universal compulsory education for those under 14 years of age, his very name has been deleted, absolutely shameful," the Congress leader said.
“Azad had a great contribution in the freedom movement, was a great scholar, a follower of Gandhian principles, a follower of Swaraj and Swadeshi and was part of the Constituent Assembly committees”, he said.
"Nobody is safe from the pace of re-writing history this government is undertaking," he said.
Accusing the RSS of indulging in re-writing history, Avijit said:
"Those who played no role in the freedom movement, disrespected the national flag and had no role in the making of India's Constitution, they are the ones who are imposing themselves on our history and trying to change it for generations to come".
"Any reference to the Gujarat riots has been obliterated, there is no reference to the banning of the RSS after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the atrocities due to the caste system have been downplayed now," he said.
Commenting on the reports about the NCERT's decision, journalist Radhika Santhanam wrote on Twitter:
"Maulana Azad - India's first education minister and key founding members of Jamia Millia Islamia, several IITs, IISc and the School of Planning and Architecture - omitted from NCERT textbooks."
Veteran and former AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah, too condemned the NCERT, recalling how Maulana Azad was opposed the partition and two nation theory.
“This is a shocking development. Can’t be true. The pique against Maulana Azad is that he advised Indian Muslims not to desert the country of their birth. My family adhered to his advice.”
Commenting on the report, Member of Parliament and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said:
"The future generations will not learn about nation’s first education minister. What they will definitely learn is the shameful bigotry of the current dispensation."
"This is not the inclusive religion of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam that PM keeps talking about", she added.
Condemning the NCERT and the government journalist Seema Sengupta, asked PM Modi to remove all references of Subhas Chandra Bose who was in jail with Maulana Azad.
“Unfortunate that independent India's first education minister's contribution will not be mentioned in high school curriculum.”
“My grandfather was a co-inmate of Maulana Azad and Subhas Chandra Bose in prison. Request PM Modi to omit Bose's reference too from text books”, she wrote.
Earlier, the leaders from NCP and other parties too had condemned the NCERT over its decision to omit the name of Maulana Azad from textbooks.
The NCERT and the government meanwhile are maintaining a guarded silence and have so far not issued any explanation about the controversial decision.
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