Padmini chapter to be rewritten in Raj

JAIPUR : After the outcry over the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film Padmaavat, the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) will omit some controversial references to Chittor’s queen Padmini from its history textbooks.

The RBSE is in the process of revising and correcting content in textbooks before the start of the new academic session from April.

People familiar with the matter at the board said some changes have been made with regard to the content on Padmini, the queen of Rawal Ratan Singh, the 14th century ruler of Chittor.

According to people familiar with the matter, a revised draft has been readied after consultations and will be given to the board for approval.

According to the draft, the portion which states that Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji saw Padmini’s reflection in a mirror and was smitten by her and later attacked Chittor fort has been removed.

The subhead “Padmini ki Kahani” (Padmini’s story) has been revised as “Padmini ka Itihas” (Padmini’s history).

A line that says that some modern historians do not accept Padmini as a historical figure has also been removed so as to avoid any controversy.

The RBSE chairman BL Chaudhary said, “The changes have been accepted by the board and the new edition of the books will not have any inaccuracies like the mirror episode that were being taught for a long time.”

Hindustan Times had reported last year that the class 12 history textbook continues to base the story of Padmini on Malik Muhammed Jayasi’s fictional account, Padmavat, written in 1540.