Owaisi attacks govt on removal of Babri Masjid reference from NCERT textbooks

NEW DELHI: AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday sought to corner the government in the Lok Sabha on the removal of references to the Babri Masjid from NCERT textbooks.

"The NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) has removed references to the Babri Masjid and the 2002 Gujarat riots … Why should people not learn from the mistakes of the past?" he asked.

"Should our children not learn about the Gujarat pogrom, massacre of minority Muslims?" the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader said.

Participating in a debate on the demands for grants for the Union education ministry in the Lok Sabha, Owaisi alleged that the government was indulging in fudging textbook material and teaching programmes.

Those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are bound to repeat them, he said.

The NCERT has pruned the section on Ayodhya from four to two pages and deleted details contained in earlier versions of its textbooks.

The revised Class 12 political science textbook removed the term "Babri Masjid", which is now being referred to as a "three-domed structure".

Participating in the debate, Independent MP Pappu Yadav demanded that Patna University be elevated to a central university.

He also urged the government that results of competitive exams be made public within 15 days to avoid any scope for manipulation.