Uproar after 'sexual desire', 'physical pleasure', 'virginity' find mention in book meant for school children

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Maharashtra government keeps getting embroiled in education-related controversies.

Opposition parties have slammed the purchase of the book Bal Nachiketa calling its contents objectionable and inappropriate for children.

Bal Nachiketa is part of the supplementary reading for children in grades 1-4 in government schools. The book was bought for school libraries.

According to the Opposition, the book has words like "loss of virginity", "physical pleasure", "sexual desire", which are unsuitable for children.

The mythological stories in the book contain sentences like:

"There are examples of kings and Gods who have enjoyed physical pleasure without marrying."

"And they made love in the foggy night".

In another story , Matsyagandha while talking to Rishi Parashar says, "Hey Rishi, who will accept me after I have lost my virginity?"

In the same story, there are lines like "Looking at the movements of her body Rishi Parashar was possessed by sexual desires" ,"He lustfully caught her hand".

The story doesn't end here as the Opposition has alleged that the book which is available in market for Rs20 was bought at the cost of Rs50.

The publisher of the book Bhartiya Vichaar Sadhana is considered close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organisation of the BJP.

ALL THE PM'S MEN

The state's education department had earlier received flak for its decision to buy books on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a cost of Rs 59.42 lakh.

The books are meant for students of classes 1-4 in state schools as supplementary reading material.

The books on PM Modi include 72,933 Marathi copies and 33 Gujarati copies of Chacha Choudhary and Narendra Modi at Rs 35 each.

State school library shelves will also have copies of the book Pradhanmantri Narendra Modi published by Diamond Pocket Books.

The education department has placed an order for 7,148 English copies as well as 424 Hindi copies of the book. The price? Rs 35 per book.

Also in the shopping cart will be 69,416 Marathi copies of the book Narendra Modi to be bought at Rs 45 per copy. The lucky publisher is Vilas Book Agency and Prakashan.

The Opposition parties aren't amused at the Maharashtra education department's overdrive in buying books on Narendra Modi.

"Earlier PM Modi sat with a charkha on a khadi department's calendar and likened himself to Mahatma Gandhi. Now with a book on Chacha Choudhary and Modi, he's
trying to create the image of Chacha Modi like Chacha Nehru," said Nawab Malik, spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Undeterred by the criticism the state government has defended its decision to splurge money on Narendra Modi hagiographies.

"The books have been solely bought on merit. There was an expert committee appointed for the selection of books," said Vinod Tawde, education minister.

A NEW HISTORY

This is not the first time that the Maharashtra education department has been sucked into a controversy.

Last year the Maharashtra education board excised history books of Muslim rule in India. The revised text books have no mention of pre-Mughal Muslim rulers while Akbar becomes a historical footnote.