TMC MP slams govt over deletion of chapters on Muslim rulers, Gujarat riots reference in textbooks

TMC MP Pratima Mondal on Thursday hit out at the government over "deletion of chapters on significant Muslim rulers" and omitting reference to 2002 Gujarat riots from NCERT curriculum, and said textbooks revision under the current government poses a threat to children's intellectual integrity.

Participating in a debate on the demands for grants for the Education Ministry, the MP from Jaynagar said government policies have not only failed to uplift the educational standards of the nation but have also systematically eroded the foundational principles that ensure equal opportunity and holistic growth of our students.

"The systematic revision of textbooks under the current government poses a threat to our children's education and intellectual integrity," she said.

Mondal recalled that in 2018, the then minister of state for education Satya Pal Singh declared Darwin's theory of evolution "scientifically wrong" and called for curricula changes.

"Darwin's theory was removed from Class 9 and 10 syllabi. By 2022-23, it was removed from textbooks. Millions of students now lack formal education on a foundational theory of modern biology," she said.

"Deleting chapters on significant Muslim rulers and their contribution from the NCERT curriculum, omitting reference to events like the 2022 Gujarat riots, altering narratives around Gandhi's assassination and promoting mythological theories over scientific ones, have been widely criticised by academicians....including Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar demanding removal of their names from the current textbooks in 2023," Mondal said.

These changes are leading to intellectual stagnation and political manipulation of Indian students, the TMC MP said.

Mondal also hit out at the government over budgetary allocations having significantly decreased.

SP MP Shiv Pal Patel from Pratapgarh accused the government of wrongfully denying jobs in educational institutions to SCs, STs and OBCs, citing the 'not found suitable candidates' clause.

TDP's Visakhapatnam MP M Sribharat lauded the new education policy that was announced four years ago and said that there is a huge responsible on state governments to realise it.

He also hailed the NDA government citing that under its rule, the number of universities have increased from 700 to 1100, number of colleges from 37,000 to 44,000 and the number of central government institutions doubled from 75 to 149 in 2021.

JD(U) MP Sunil Kumar from Valmiki Nagar demanded a Kendra Vidyalaya and a Navodaya Vidyalaya for his constituency.