HC directs CBSE not to set questions on objectionable topics

New Delhi, Nov 8 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) not to set questions on the objectionable facts in the history books, prescribed in the schools, during the forthcoming examinations.

A division bench of Justices M K Sharma and Hima Kohli asked both the CBSE and National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to delete the passages as they were hurting the religious sentiments of the people.

In a lengthy order, the Judges said, ''In our considered opinion, curriculum should be aimed to give positive education and the 20 objectionable passages should be taken out by the NCERT test books from the next session starting from April 1, 2007.'' The NCERT and CBSE submitted that the schools had been directed not to set questions on the passages during the session and they would be deleted from the books from the next academic session.

The Arya Mahasabha and Brahman Samaj, in a petition had sought the direction of the court for deletion of 75 objectionable items from the History book saying it had bad impact on the young students.

Some of the items stated that the Aryans, including the 'Brahmins', were beef eaters in the ancient days.

''Cows are worshipped by the Aryans and Hindus since the Vedic period and nobody should be allowed to distort the facts,'' said the Arya Mahasabha.

The PIL filed by petitioner Dinanath Batra alleged that freedom fighters such as Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Arabindo Ghosh and Bhagat Singh are depicted as ''militants'' in history and social science books prescribed in the secondary school curricula.

The petition alleged that many revered figures of various communities of Indian society had been depicted in bad light in the books, exposing the nation and national unity to irreparable damage.

The impregnable minds of the children are being subjected to biased, distorted, wrong, unfounded and incorrect information in contravention to the principles of secularism, said the petition.

UNI PAT RR VV1800