KOCHI Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan released the textbooks of history, political science, economics, and sociology by distributing them to select students at a government school in Thiruvananthapuram. (ANI)

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday released additional textbooks for students of classes 11 and 12, which include the portions that were recently deleted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

The CM released the textbooks of history, political science, economics, and sociology by distributing them to select students at a government school in Thiruvananthapuram.

At the event, CM Vijayan said, “For the 2023-24 academic year, in the textbooks that NCERT prepared, some important changes were made in the name of rationalisation. Some portions were taken out completely. Our government looks at this very seriously because the lessons that were deleted were those that should not have been removed. As a result, we have prepared additional textbooks for the subjects of history, political science, economics and sociology by including those portions that should not have been removed. In the name of educational reforms, NCERT is making unilateral interventions at the national level.”

For students of classes 11 and 12, NCERT’s 44 textbooks across 12 subjects are available for perusal which have certain lessons that have been prepared with special interest, the CM alleged.

“Such lessons will change the social and historical perspectives of students. The danger is that a generation will grow up lacking human values. It will endanger our society which is rooted in brotherhood and thinks with a secular mind. That’s why the state government has come up with this alternate proposal,” he said.

The CM pointed out that one of the portions deleted by NCERT from the textbooks concerned the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Those who were involved in Gandhi’s assassination, which organisation were they a part of and what principles guided them, we know very well. The removal of such details from textbooks are not to reduce the weight of textbooks, but for some political interests. Such reforms are aimed at whitewashing individuals and organisations involved in the Gandhi assassination. There is no doubt that those whitewashing such organisations may tomorrow hail Godse as a great man. We should imagine how dangerous this situation is,” he said.

By removing lessons connected to Mughal history from the textbooks, an attempt is being made to create the feeling that this country belongs to a particular section of society, he claimed.

Some of the portions, allegedly removed by the NCERT and subsequently retained by the Kerala government, include Mughal history, industrial revolution, partition of India, assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, five-year economic plans and American capitalism.

Jayaprakash RK, director of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), said six textbooks across four subjects were prepared timely by including portions removed by the NCERT.

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