'Sita was Abducted by Rama', says Gujarat school textbook

In a major goof up, a Gujarat class 12th textbook says that Sita was abducted by Lord Rama. This latest blunder in a textbook prompted Congress to lash out at Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks (GSBST) with GPCC spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi saying "dozens of mistakes are revealed in textbooks of all classes in Gujarat."

Reports say that there are several errors in the GSBST text books. This latest error of Sita being abducted by Rama comes in the Class 12 Sanskrit textbook. The error appears in a paragraph describing poet Kalidas' 'Raghuvansham'. This particular error appears on Page 106 of the textbook's English version, said a News 18 report.

"There is a very heart-touching description of the message conveyed by Laxman to Ram when Sita was abducted by Rama," the controvesial line says.

The correct word should have been 'abandoned' and not 'abducted' becasue the the Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi versions have used the phrase 'Sita Tyaag'. Tyaag translates to abandoned.

The chairman of GSBST said that notices would be issued to those involved in the translation and proof reading of this particular book.

"Yes, I admit that such errors adversely impact the credibility of the textbook board. In this instance, it appears as if the translators have wrongly used the word 'abducted' and proof readers have overlooked the error," a News 18 report quoted GSBST chairman Dr Nitin Pethani as saying.

He also said that the error in the online version of the textbook has been corrected.

Last year, GSBST had drawn flak after it was found that Class 9 Hindi textbook referred to Jesus Christ as a demon.