PremiumPakistan refers to the portion of the state that is controlled by its government in the west as ‘Azad Kashmir’ while India refers to this area as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
An image of a sample Class 10 exam question asking students to mark "Azad Kashmir" on a map caused a political uproar in West Bengal. While the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called it a "jihadi" conspiracy, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government has called it a mistake that they don't endorse. The question should be read as "Kashmir" rather than "Azad Kashmir", according to a corrigendum the board provided on January 17.
Pakistan refers to the portion of the state that is controlled by its government in the west as "Azad Kashmir" while India refers to this area as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Since 1947, it has been a contentious subject between the two countries.
Students preparing for the Class 10 Madhyamik exam, which is often held in March or April, use the test paper. The book is a compilation of questions supplied by government schools from all over Bengal and is published by the board each year. Page 132 of the document contains the contentious question.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education's president, Ramanuj Gangopadhyay, assured the media that the board's specialists would examine the situation and take appropriate measures.
“Our experts will review the question. We will inquire who set the question and who reviewed it. Action will be taken according to provisions in the board's Act. We will publish our decision, whether it is a clarification or rectification, on our website. Everything will be official," he said while claiming that the perpetrators of the error won't get off easy.
BJP's national vice president Dilip Ghosh, as well as other officials, attacked the Mamata Banerjee government, claiming it advocates separatist rhetoric.
“Check the Marked Section of History Question Paper on page 132 in Madhyamik Test Paper 2023. Students have been asked to identify the part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir as Azad Kashmir," posted Ghosh while calling the Mamata government as a “supporter of the separatist forces".
Rahul Sinha, a prominent member of the BJP, accused the state administration of encouraging "jihadi" ideas within its borders. He called for a “high-level probe" into the incident that “proves that the state government promotes jihadi thoughts to appease its vote bank".