Unjustified to portray Sikhs as separatist: SGPC on NCERT book’s reference to 1973 resolution
The book said that the resolution advocated the strengthening of federalism, but that it could also be ‘ read as a demand for separate Sikh nation’.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Friday alleged that the National Council of Educational Research and Training misrepresented historical details about Sikhs in its Class 12 political science textbook.
The Sikh body’s objection pertained to the mention of the Anandpur Sahib resolution in the book “Politics In India Since Independence”.
The Anandpur Sahib resolution was a document adopted by the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1973. The resolution affirmed the party’s commitment to the Sikh religion and demanded greater autonomy for Punjab. It also demanded that the city of Chandigarh should be handed over to Punjab and that Punjabi should be given second-language status in neighbouring states.
A reference to the resolution in the NCERT’s book notes that it advocates the strengthening of federalism, the Hindustan Times reported. The newspaper further quotes the book as stating: “However, it [the resolution] can also be read as a demand for separate Sikh nation.”
SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami said on Friday that the reference was highly objectionable. He added that it was “not at all justified to portray Sikhs as separatists”.
Dhami said that the resolution spoke about the rights of Punjan and the need to strengthen the country’s federal structure. “It is a matter of sadness that the situation is similar even today,” he said. “The rights and interests of the states are being ignored.”
The SGPC chief added: “It seems that the speakers of the language of Hindu Rashtra are being deliberately favoured, while on the other hand, instead of resolving the issues of minorities, the narrative is being spread against them by creating misconceptions. The spirit of communalism visible in the syllabus is not in line with the interests of the country.”
The Sikh body’s comments come amidst the NCERT’s sweeping changes in its updated history and political science textbooks. The new textbooks dropped paragraphs on attempts by Hindu extremists to assassinate Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the ban imposed on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after his killing, among other subjects.
