PM defends textbook deletions

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 24. Commenting on the recent deletions in history textbooks, prepared for the schools by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today voiced his support for the move, saying ``one-sided history'' should be changed even as the major Opposition parties continued their protest on the issue.

`Agar itihaas one-sided hai, to isme sudhar kiya jaana chahiye (If history is one-sided, it should be corrected),'' the Prime Minister told reporters during an informal chat at a lunch hosted by the BJP spokesperson, Mr. V.K. Malhotra, here.

When his attention was drawn to Rajya Sabha uproar over what the Congress called ``Talibanisation'' of education, Mr. Vajpayee said: ``We are ready for a debate on it in Parliament.''

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) today demanded the withdrawal of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) circular deleting portions from history textbooks, while the Congress questioned its jurisdiction in issuing such a directive.

The CPI(M) politburo said in a statement that the textbooks written by prominent historians contained factual material about the `Vedic age' which should be available to any student studying history. ``The deletions have been done with a communal and sectarian viewpoint. It is shocking that even a true depiction of the oppressive caste system has been censored. This speaks volumes for the brahminical and chauvinist outlook which has motivated the censorship,'' it said.

Laying the responsibility for the ``obnoxious decision'' at the door of the Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, the CPI(M) said this would be widely viewed as the `Talibanisation' of the education system.

An independent group of experts should be asked to look into the whole exercise of rewriting history undertaken by the BJP-led Government and its proteges in the higher educational bodies.

Mr. Eduardo Faleiro, senior Congress leader, questioned the CBSE `jurisdiction' to issue a circular directing the deletion of some portions from textbooks for middle school.

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