The NCERT decision to drop the section on class conflict from its Class IX history textbook — a portion that describes the Channar revolt — aptly illustrates the Sangh Parivar approach of mangling history books, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
In a sharply worded reaction, the Chief Minister condemned the NCERT decision, terming it an attempt to erase renaissance values from the psyche of the younger generation.
‘No’ to renaissance
“The NCERT has dropped sections on the renaissance movement, specifically the struggles undertaken by the Dalit-backward sections in India. The section on the ‘Maaru Marackal Samaram’ (Channar revolt) that played an important role in the renaissance movement and women empowerment in Kerala has been dropped,” Mr. Vijayan said.
“C. Kesavan’s autobiography Jeevithasamaram throws light on the hollowness of the social justice mechanisms of his times. Sections from it also have been avoided,” he said.
The NCERT decision has come at a time when the Kerala government was trying to increase content on renaissance values in school textbooks, he said. The DYFI, in a statement, termed the NCERT decision a part of the Sangh Parivar’s elitist agenda to ‘saffronise’ history. Through its decision, the NCERT has severed the liberation struggles of the marginalised from the annals of history, DYFI State president S. Sathish and secretary A.A. Rahim said.
Cherian Philip, coordinator, Nava Keralam Mission, termed the NCERT decision “ill-intentioned”.
