After Pratap, ‘Padmavat’ courts textbook trouble

JAIPUR: Even as the controversy over some remarks on Rana Pratap added in e-textbooks for Class X students rages in Rajasthan, there is another storm brewing over a reference to poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, the writer of ‘Padmavat,’ in a chapter on Rawal Ratan Singh (1302-1303 CE) in a newly added Class X textbook for general knowledge, ‘Rajasthan Ka Itihas Evam Sanskriti’ (Rajasthan’s History and Culture).
The Johar Smriti Sansthan (JSS) in Chittorgarh has raised objection at the reference of Jayasi used in a paragraph narrating the history of Rawal Ratan Singh. The textbook reference which the JSS has objected to says: “Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s (1540 CE) poem 'Padmavat' says that Alauddin Khilji attacked Rawal Ratan Singh for his wife Padmini.”
JSS chief Takhat Singh Solanki, 84, said that the state has again attempted to connect two historical episodes divided by over two centuries and two different regions.