Congress urges Assam CM to retain chapter on Jawaharlal Nehru

Assam Congress has recently opposed the decision taken by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) to drop a number of chapters on Jawaharlal Nehru while reducing the syllabus for Classes XI and XII for the 2020-21 academic session.

The council decided to reduced 30% of the current syllabus to help the students who suffered a major hit in their studies during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 situation.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia has urged the Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal to instruct the AHSEC to retain certain chapters pertaining to the policies and contribution of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Also Read: Northeast-based insurgent groups forced to relocate

He mentioned the instances of chapters relating to the nation-building policies of Pandit Nehru, his foreign policy and the ‘Garibi Hatao’ campaign initiated by Indira Gandhi.

“Any unbiased person would concede that Pandit Nehru laid the foundation of modern India by laying emphasis on industrialization of the country via scientific technology. Similarly, Pandit Nehru had signed the Panchasheel Agreement with China and the neighbouring country had recently stated that it still wants bilateral ties based on that pact,” Saikia wrote in the letter.

“Despite the hurdle created by Covid-19, it was important for students of the present generation to learn about the contribution made by India’s first Prime Minister,” he said.

Saikia mentioned that everyone had noticed a concerted campaign by a certain section over the past few years to tarnish the image of Pandit Nehru and he suspected that this force was behind the AHSEC’s decision to drop chapters about Pandit Nehru from the curriculum.

The topics that have been dropped off the Class XII political science syllabus were “Unit-I: First three general elections”, “Unit-II: Nehru’s approach to nation-building”, “Unit-III: Famine and suspension of five-year plans”, “Unit-IV: Nehru’s foreign policy” and “Unit-V: Political succession after Nehru, politics of and Garibi Hatao”. Chapters on the Ayodhya dispute and the Gujarat riots have also been deleted.

Readers like you make Inside Northeast’s work possible

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:                                                                       

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast.