NCERT drops ‘objectionable’ portions on Khalistan from Class 12 political science textbook

NEW DELHI: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), following a decision by a committee of experts, has dropped certain portions from Class 12 political science textbooks that mention “secessionism” and the “creation of Khalistan”.

NCERT had received a letter from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which asked it to “withdraw objectionable content” against Sikh community from the text as it “misrepresents the Anandpur Sahib Resolution”. NCERT had formed a committee of experts to look into the complaint.

In the Class 12 textbook Politics in India Since Independence, under the subsection titled “Punjab”, the text talked about the Anandpur Sahib Resolution in 1973 which demanded greater autonomy for the Punjab region.

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The NCERT textbook read: “The resolution was a plea for strengthening federalism. But it could also be interpreted as a plea for a separate Sikh nation.” The latter sentence has been dropped in the revised version.

In the next paragraph, the NCERT political science textbook read: ”A few years later, after the Akali government was dismissed in 1980, the Akali Dal launched a movement on the question of distribution of water between Punjab and its neighbouring states. A section of the religious leaders raised the question of autonomous Sikh identity. The more extreme elements started advocating for secession from India and the creation of ‘Khalistan’.” The last sentence has also been dropped in the revised version.

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