‘PSEB history books under SAD-BJP rule also had defamatory content’

PATIALA: Amid the controversy over new Class XII history book of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), the old books have also come under scanner for containing defamatory content.
The Sikh bodies and scholars have started raising objections over the content that has been taught to the students of Class XII over the years.

They have raised questions over the role of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) members and PSEB officials in ignoring the alleged defamatory content against the gurus and the Sikh history. They alleged that these books were still being taught in the schools.

A few years back, PSEB approved ‘History of Punjab’ authored by Harish Chauhan and Chandra Shekhar. The book mentions that the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev got supernatural powers from ascetics, renouncers and knowledgeable people living in forests. Similarly, the old rivalry between the Sikhs and Mughals has been mentioned as a prime reason behind the martyrdom of the ninth Sikh master Guru Teg Bahadur instead of his stand against the forcible conversion of Kashmiri Pandits into Islam.

Sikh bodies claimed that the Sikh community was mentioned as a sect instead of the religion and facts about preaching of Sikhism had also been distorted. The image of Guru Nanak in the book has also irked Sikhs. The book mentions not only about the physique of Guru Nanak but also his colour as fair, sharp and attractive eyes and others description.

“Hymns of Guru Granth Sahib have numerous errors while intentionally the word ‘temple’ has been used instead of Harmandar Sahib for Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. The ‘Gaudi Ki Var’ has been mentioned as biography of second and third Sikh master Guru Angad Dev and Guru Amardas respectively. It has been wrongly mentioned that the Sikh community witnessed a transformation from the sixth master Guru Hargobind,” said, Jaswant Singh, an assistant professor at University College, Dhilwan.

“Both the SGPC and the Congress are responsible for blunders committed in the new history book whereas the old book has similar errors that were being taught to the students in Class XII. The Sikh community has been cheated by the government under the rule of both the SAD-BJP and the Congress who want to dilute the history of the Sikhs under influence of an orthodox agency,” said Jaswinder Singh Rajpura, president of United Sikh Party.

Former education minister and Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema said, “Errors might have appeared in some books during our tenure but whenever such matter was brought to our notice we corrected it. Neither the PSEB nor anyone else brought these blunders to our notice but I will look through the book.”

When asked if the PSEB board under SAD-BJP regime failed to look into a distortion of history in the books before approving those, he said, “The minister is not an academic. I don’t know how many books were approved for history subject. We don’t interfere in the PSEB matter.”

However, SGPC education director Jatinder Singh Sidhu said, “A panel of SGPC Sikh History Board is looking into the content related to the gurus and Sikh history. It might not have come to our notice about the book approved during the SAD rule. I will look into it.”