Discrepancies in Class-12 history book intentional, says oversight panel head

Talking to HT, the nonagenarian said: “How can one write Sikh history without having the knowledge of Persian language?”

A day after Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh constituted a six-member oversight committee to examine history syllabus of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), the panel head, Prof Kirpal Singh, 94, on Tuesday said discrepancies in Class-12 book were intentional.

Prof Kirpal Singh, 94, at his residence in Sector 15, Chandigarh,on Tuesday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

The committee was set up after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that a major portion of Sikh history was removed from the Class-12 book. The committee comprises JS Grewal, former vice-chancellor Guru Nanak Dev University, Prithipal Singh Kapur, former pro-VC of the GNDU, and Indu Banga, emeritus professor, history, at Panjab University, besides two historians to be nominated by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

Talking to HT, the nonagenarian said: “How can one write Sikh history without having the knowledge of Persian language? The writer of a book to be prescribed to students is crucial. Also, who is writing the book, what’s his background and use of vocabulary is important,” said Prof Singh, adding that he cannot write a book on the history of Marathas and South India.

Refusing to elaborate much, Prof Singh said: “My work is academics and I will not plunge into politics (over the Class-12 history book).”

Having penned 50 books on history of Punjab, Prof Singh has also written on Baba Ala Singh, who founded the Patiala royal dynasty in 1763. His book was reprinted by Guru Nanak Dev University in 2002. Born in 1924 at Gujranwala in Pakistan Punjab, Prof Singh did his PhD on “Partition of Punjab”. He remained head of historical studies department, Punjabi University, Patiala.