The Deputy Director of Education (DDE), Kozhikode, has submitted an inquiry report to the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) on the distribution of books containing ‘distorted’ versions of Indian history to students of a government school at Koyilandy.
The books were meant to be reference material for the Sanskruti Jnana Pareeksha, a scholarship exam for students from Classes V to VIII, held by Vidya Bharati, a frontal organisation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, on Saturday.
E.K. Suresh Kumar, DDE, told The Hindu on Monday that the District Educational Officer, Vadakara, was asked to conduct an inquiry against K.K. Murali, a teacher at Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Koyilandy, who was accused of distributing them.
‘Akhanda Bharat’
The book has on its cover page a picture of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, the ideologue of the Jan Sangh, the forerunner of the BJP. A map of India shows ‘Akhanda Bharat’, with Pakistan too being part of it. It says that the mosque in Ayodhya was built after demolishing a Ram temple and the one in Mathura was built by Mughal ruler Aurangazeb after demolishing a Krishna temple.
Among the brave sons of Bharat were given the names of Hanuman, Manu, the author of Manu Smriti, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the late leader of the Hindu Maha Sabha.
The book claimed that the first struggle for Independence was launched by the Hindu ‘sanyasis’ of Bengal in 1773, not by Indian sepoys in 1857.
According to sources in the Education Department, Mr. Murali had not sought the permission of the school principal for distributing the books.
The students were reportedly charged ₹50 for each book.
“Mr. Murali was asked to give explanation. I have forwarded it to the DPI, who will decide whether to take disciplinary action against him or not,” Mr. Suresh Kumar said.
