Lost in translation, the definition of secular

Class VI textbook says it is ‘pantha nirpeksh’ in Hindi, ‘dharma nirpeksh’ in Marathi

Screenshot of theClass VI textbook.—Photo: Special Arrangement

Months after raking up the controversy over the word secular in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution and its ‘true’ Hindi translation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to ignite the debate once again.

According to BJP-led Maharashtra government, the Hindi translation of secular is ‘ panth nirpeksha’ and Marathi translation is ‘dharma nirpeksh ’.

The Hindi version of the Preamble, published by Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research in the Class VI textbook mentions

‘panth nirpeksh’ instead of

‘dharm nirpeksh ’. Interestingly, all other Marathi medium textbooks for Class VI have continued with the word

‘dharma nirpeksh,’ except for Hindi.

In addition, Hindi textbooks for all other standards, including those for year 2016, have the word

‘dharma nirpeksh’ in the Preamble.

The Opposition leaders criticised the government for this and said it was an attempt to change the Preamble. “We condemn such shameful tactics of the government. This is nothing but clear attempt to change the Constitution by back door methods. We will be strongly opposing it, inside and outside the Assembly,” said Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant.

The State bureau has come up with a new curriculum and textbooks with different design for Class VI from the current academic year. According to a senior officer from the Education department, the Hindi translation is a courtesy of the official version made available from the Central government website.

According to the Hindi translation of the Constitution (Updated as of November 9, 2015) available at the website of Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) the earlier translation of word ‘secular’ to ‘dharma nirpeksh’ is replaced with ‘panth nirpeksh’ .

Asked why it was reflected only in Hindi textbook and not in any other, the officer suggested that the question be put to a higher authority.

When asked about the controversy, the State Education Minister Vinod Tawde said no such instructions have gone out from the state government as the committee responsible for printing books has the final authority. “But since you have pointed it out, I will ask the officers to inquire into the incident and if anything wrong is found out, we will correct the mistake,” he said.

Senior counsel in the Bombay High Court Advocate Mihir Desai told The Hindu that the original Constitution is in English. “If they are claiming that pantha nirpeksh means secular then they must explain the rationale behind it. It should also be explained as to whether dharma and pantha are the same. It must be noted that, secularism is an integral part of the Constitution and has not undergone any change,” he said.