The BJP government in Rajasthan is likely to review its decision of deleting references to former PM Jawaharlal Nehru from school textbooks. Following the move that became news the world over and created unnecessary controversy, chief minister Vasundhara Raje reportedly summoned education minister Vasudev Devnani to express her displeasure. A Cabinet minister in the Raje government, Surendra Goyal, too didn’t find the move in the right spirit. “Jawaharlal Nehru was the country’s first PM. Children should know about him. If his name has been removed, this is not correct,” he told a news channel. Although Mr Devnani put up a brave face after his meeting with Ms Raje and claimed that he met the chief minister only to explained facts and the syllabus would not be changed under pressure from the Congress, there is possibility that after an earful from the CM, he may have to reintroduce the chapters related to Nehru.
According to sources, it was not just Nehru, but several prominent figures of India’s Independence struggle who went missing from the revised textbooks.
“We will review the syllabus and if names like Jhansi ki Rani Lakshmi Bai and Ramprasad Bismil were left out by mistake they will be included once again,” Mr Devnani said.
“The syllabus is prepared by secondary board of education and state institute of education research and training,” he added.
However, Mr Devnani who is at the centre of this controversy and earlier scoffed at critics claiming they had not read the books because Nehru’s name figure at 15 places in text books for class VIII to XI now at pains to explain that there was no political motive behind limiting reference to Nehru in the text book. “The syllabus is prepared by secondary board of education and state institute of education research and training,” he added. He said that the BJP government added Nehru’s name in the text book of class VII, which was not in the syllabus earlier. “Jawahar Lal Nehru’s name figures at 15 places in text books for class VIII to XI,” he said.
