The police have found ‘highly objectionable content that could trigger communal disharmony’ in the textbooks of Peace International School in Kochi.
Based on a report filed by the District Education Office that the contents in many of the textbooks used by the school are not secular, the police have registered a First Information Report against the Principal, administrator, and the three managing committee members of the school under Section 153(A) for promoting enmity among different groups on the ground of religion. The police submitted the FIR before a magistrate on Saturday.
“The words in the textbooks have been so intelligently phrased that one gets an idea about the Islamic orthodoxy they preach only if one reads at least 50 to 60 of their books back-to-back. For instance, one of the textbooks meant for II Standard asks how many students would be ready to submit themselves for Islam,” Kerala Police told The Hindu .
Officials said the textbooks were not approved by bodies such as the State Council of Educational Research and Training, the Central Board of Secondary Education or the Kerala State Board. calls to the school office remained unanswered.
Link to missing youths The NIA, which is probing the operation of an IS-inspired module, said they would examine the school’s involvement in the missing cases from Kasaragod, as at least six of the missing youths had worked with the school. One of the textbooks promises paradise to students who are ready to fight for the cause of Islam, while another speaks about the importance of extending dawa or an invitation to non-Muslims to join the religion.
The Trust that runs the school is funded by three prominent business houses based in central Kerala.
