Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar dismissed the study of the two-part supplementary book from school reading material. He argued that the reading material does not glorify the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Minister Dilawar said that the books 'Azadi ke Baad ka Swarnim Bharat' Part-1 and Part-2 carry no marks and, therefore, he directed the officials of the department to discontinue teaching these books according to PTI reports.
Dilawar adds, “The books only glorified Congress leaders, specifically the Gandhi family. Key figures such as Lal Bahadur Shastri, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr Ambedkar and even Congress leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who later founded the Bharatiya Janata Sangh, while extensively promoting the Gandhi family.”
Stressing that “positive things” should be taught, Dilawar said that the contributions of those who served the country and the state should be equally mentioned. Still, those Congress leaders who imposed the Emergency and killed democracy have been glorified in these textbooks.
The Congress has attacked the minister over the decision, saying that the government can remove textbooks from the syllabus, but cannot change people's minds. The party leaders dubbed the decision 'ridiculous', reported PTI.
Contents of the Books
The book Azadi ke Baad ka Swarnim Bharat is a part of the Rajasthan State Board syllabus of Class 12.
Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and the liberation movement are among the topics covered in the book. The accomplishments of past prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi are also highlighted in the book. It highlights several initiatives and accomplishments from the previous UPA administrations led by Manmohan Singh, including the Right to Education and the Right to Information.
The book contains a preface about Nehru: "Jawaharlal Nehru was the architect of modern India. He was a great democrat. Nehru's concept of democracy was very dynamic and broad. He considered democracy to be constantly evolving and dynamic. Pt. Nehru had great faith in parliamentary democracy. For him, democracy is a way of life and a way of thinking. The democratic values propounded by Nehru can be seen in the preamble of the Indian Constitution," it said.
The books mention various programmes and achievements such as Right to Education and Right to Information among others of the former UPA governments headed by Manmohan Singh. Since it was last revised in 2019, the book also has references to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, demonetisation and GST implementation, reported PTI.
Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi are featured in one of the four images on the front page of Part 1, and Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi are featured on the cover page of Part 2.
