The Kerala Student Union (KSU), a Congress-affiliated student organisation, protested in front of the Accountant General's office in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, April 17, alleging saffronisation of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks. The protesters allegedly tried to break the barricades, while the police used water cannons to disperse them.
Political controversies have been erupting after NCERT omitted certain portions from its syllabus. Though NCERT stated the ommissions were part of a "rationalisation" process, many opposition party leaders alleged that it was a part of the RSS agenda to "communalise India's history by distorting it", as per a report by ANI.
Commenting on the controversy, on April 9, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty demanded that the NCERT board should be reconstituted with representatives from all states. He also alleged that the Council's decision is on behalf of the RSS. "The decision to exclude certain key portions from NCERT textbooks can't be the decision of NCERT alone; it can only be seen as the decision of the BJP government," the minister stated.
He further alleged that the central government pursued a vested political interest rather than an academic interest. He further said that Kerala will not use Class XI and XII NCERT textbooks. The controversy is mainly focused on the ommissions related to Mughal history from the NCERT syllabus, as per ANI.
