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Students being taught distorted facts: Joshi
FORMER UNION Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi today said that the existence of the country was at stake. The government and the people should join hands to save the country from the cultural and educational invasion it has been facing for the past few years.
FORMER UNION Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi today said that the existence of the country was at stake. The government and the people should join hands to save the country from the cultural and educational invasion it has been facing for the past few years.
Speaking at the Shrimati Chameli Devi Mahendra Smriti Samman Samaroh at the Merchants Chamber here Dr Joshi said that students at primary and higher secondary levels were being taught distorted facts about the country, its cultural heritage and socio-political structure.
There was no one who could draw the attention of the government for removing the lessons in History which presented an ugly picture of the country and its leaders, he said.
Citing a few examples he said that in NCERT books Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur was describe as a dacoit who was killed following a conspiracy. These books describe the Jain Guru Mahaveer Swami as the first Teerthankar and say all previous Teerthankars were not real.
He said that the books did not contain information about the early Indian civilization and the religious leaders who put in commendable efforts to create a very powerful community. Referring to one of the interview boards of which he was a member, he said, the candidates did not know about Kalidas. Most of the candidates plainly said they knew about ADIDAS but they had no information about Kalidas.
Launching a scathing attack on the Union Education Minister he asked how could he (Minister) suggest the Finance Minister to raise revenue by imposing tax on the women going to beauty parlours and using costly cosmetics.
He warned that distortion of historical facts and imparting fabricated accounts of the important events took place in the country, just to pursue the appeasement policies would cause irreparable loss to the integrity of the country. He also expressed his concern over fast deterioration in literature and age-old human and social values.
A noted writer and editor of various magazines and newspapers Seela Jhunjhunwala, who was felicitated at the function, said that the media had lost its gravity under the influence of “Vandalism of Capital” (Poonji ki goondagardhi) and become the conveyor of incidents related to murder, kidnapping, rape and dacoity. The media hardly bothered to look into the causes of various ills that had gripped the society. The media was unconcerned and silent over its responsibility toward creating a better society.
She said the country was facing a crisis of writers. On the occasion noted ‘Hasya’ kavi Manjeet Singh and Dharm Pal Awasthi were also felicitated. Kamal Mussadi conducted the proceedings while Dr Suresh Awasthi, secretary of the association Hastakshar, presented a brief resume of the association. The programme was organised under the auspices of Hastakshar association.
