The Congress on Sunday sought an apology from Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, after it emerged that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s name does not find a mention in the State’s social science textbook for class eight. It warned of a State-wide agitation if the government refused to take corrective action.
‘Vasundhara must explain’“Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to the freedom struggle cannot be diminished and we want his name back in the textbook,” State Congress president Sachin Pilot told The Hindu . The Vasundhra government must explain whether it was a technical glitch or a deliberate move to erase his name from India’s collective memory. “Unfortunately, there is a mention of Veer Savarkar, but not of Nehru,” he said.
Currently campaigning for the party in Kerala, Mr. Pilot said he would head back to Rajasthan on Monday and kick-start a campaign against the move on Tuesday.
“We will meet the Governor and also consider legal action,” he said.
He accused the ruling BJP of pursuing a “malicious agenda.”
The textbook incident had made it clear that the ruling party was trying to “eliminate Congress leaders” from Indian history.
The book is unavailable in the market now. State publisher Rajasthan Rajya Pathyapustak Mandal has uploaded it online. Its chapters feature Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Veer Savarkar, Bhagat Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak among others. Apart from ignoring Nehru, it does not mention that Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse.
