HISTORY BOOK ISSUE: SAD-BJP delegation meets Guv

Taking the alleged dilution of Sikh history from Class XI and XII textbooks of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) to the Punjab Raj Bhawan, a high-level delegation of the SAD-BJP combine on Friday sought the Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore’s “urgent and effective” intervention in the matter.

The delegation, led by SAD president Sukhbir Badal and Punjab BJP chief Shwait Malik, submitted a memorandum to the Governor seeking his intervention to stop the Congress-led State Government from going ahead with its “deep-rooted and disastrous conspiracy” to “systematically murder” the Sikh history, heritage and culture.

Through the memorandum, the coalition warned the State Government against its “brazen obstinacy in sticking to the course of confrontation against the history and heritage of the great gurus and against the great people of Punjab”.

Sukhbir himself pointed out the errors, and mistakes in the textbooks regarding the individuals and incidents related to Sikh history to the Governor apprising him of the entire issue.

Pointing that the government is falsely claiming that no chapters on Punjab and Sikh history have been deleted or expunged from the syllabus or from the books meant for Class XII, and that the same have been shifted to Class XI, Sukhbir pointed that none of the 23 chapters, which formed a part of the syllabus for Class XII has been shifted to the syllabus of Class XI, and the chapters on Punjab and Sikh history in Class XI, which they are mischievously claiming as new additions for the said class, were already a part of the curriculum for Class XI and were being taught already.

“Punjab Governor gave a very patient, keen and sympathetic audience to the delegation on every aspect of the issue of extreme sensitivity. He assured of sympathetic consideration of every aspect of the matter and of an appropriate response,” said Sukhbir after the meeting adding that the delegation has come out of the meeting with “constructive and positive vibes”.

The delegation, in the memorandum, alleged that the conspiracy was aimed at erasing all traces of Sikh faith, Sikh ideology and Sikh way of living from the minds of the people.

“This is part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to deliver a death-blow to the rare, unmatched and proud history and heritage of the Sikh faith founded by the Gurus,” Sukhbir alleged.

He informed reporters that the delegation told the Governor that the state government's “systematic act of murdering” Punjabi, especially Sikh history is a direct onslaught on the principles, the faith and the heritage revered by the followers of the Sikh religion.

“The government's brazen and obstinate refusal to respect the sentiments of the Sikh masses in this regard has caused deep and widespread wave of pain, anxiety and anger in the minds of Sikhs all over the world,” he said.

“They have either failed or deliberately refused to realise that the priceless heritage of Gurus also adorns our national history and is glorious part of the humanity's spiritual heritage,” said Sukhbir.

For reasons best known to the PSEB and the state government, they have decided that the history of Punjab and the Sikhs is not a serious enough subject to be studied by the students of Class XII, he said, adding that that was why they have relegated Punjab and Sikh history to Class XI or even lower than that.

The state government has all along been alleging the opposition, especially the SAD, of trying to spread “misinformation” on a sensitive religious issue by making “baseless” public statements without bothering to check the facts. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, in his clarification, had claimed that the chapters pertaining to Sikh history had only been shifted from Class XII to Class XI.

The delegation maintained that the Punjabis and the Sikhs will never allow anyone to destroy the unparalleled history of the state and the history and heritage of the proud, brave and patriotic Sikh community.

The memorandum stated that the two parties believed in the resolution of the problem through a constructive approach.

“The Chief Minister was requested that pending such a solemn and high level inquiry, the old syllabus and books containing detailed chapters on Punjab and Sikh history be restored for studies in the on-going session for students of both Class XI and XII so that students did not suffer because of the sins of the guilty officials,” it stated.

They regretted that “the Government has completely shut its mind on the issue and is bent upon inflicting massive and permanent damage on the future generations of Punjab”