Now, RSS targets madrasas in Bengal over history lessons

MOVE COULD HAVE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS AS RULING TRINAMOOL CONGRESS ENJOYS ROCK SOLID SUPPORT FROM MINORITIES

KOLKATA: A storm is brewing in Bengal’s educational politics with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS) leaders planning to move the Calcutta High Court, alleging state madrasas are teaching an “incomplete history” of the nation that only begins with the Muslim period and omits the Vedic era and the age of emperor Ashoka altogether.

The move could have political implications as the ruling Trinamool Congress enjoys rock solid support from minorities and chief minister Mamata Banerjee has often said she will not tolerate any attack on any community.

RSS leaders said prominent lawyers had already been consulted and a case could be filed in a week as the syllabus was a violation of the Constitution.

“We have collected books, syllabus and documents and have held meetings with advocates. Article 30 of the Constitution, which gives administrative independence to minority institutions does not say that such bifurcated history can be taught,” said a senior RSS leader, who did not want to be identified. “At secondary and higher secondary levels, where the certification is given, how can the syllabus omit ancient Indian history?”

Sources within the gover The West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education is an autonomous body under the state’s minority affairs and madrasa education department with over 600 Islamic seminaries under it and nearly 5,00,000 students. The state also has over 10,000 unrecognised madrasas.

The latest controversy follows a Maharashtra government move to declare about 1,00,000 students “out-of-school” children as madrasas that do not offer maths, science and social studies will not be recognised as formal schools.

Sangh leaders in Bengal argued that if the madrasa board that operated under the state government prescribed a truncated syllabus, thousands of unregulated madrasas probably taught an even more distorted history of the nation.

“If students do not learn about glorious history of Samrat Ashoka, Panchsheel, the Vedic era how will they grow up to be proper Indians? At the madrasas truncated history is being taught where it all starts from the Muslim periode,” said Jishnu Basu, RSS karyavaha (general secretary, south Bengal).