Gender stereotyping row: AIADMK slams CBSE, seeks action

AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam said CBSE was duty bound to advice those setting question papers to ensure the content was not against the society, while controversial and those that "could incite violence" should be avoided.

"CBSE also has a responsibility to monitor if the question paper is framed accordingly," Panneerselvam said in a party statement here.

In the class 10 exam conducted on Saturday, the question paper carried a comprehension passage with sentences such as "emancipation of women destroyed the parents' authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones", among others.

Excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media platforms earlier, with users calling out the board for supporting "misogynistic" and "regressive opinions" and the hashtag "#CBSEinsultswomen" trending on Twitter.

CBSE on Monday expressed regret and announced a committee to thoroughly review and strengthen the question paper setting process following the outrage, even as the Board dropped the part from the questionnaire and said full marks will be awarded to students for it.

Panneerselvam, referring to a Tamil saying, implied such action from the Board was "too late."

"I urge CBSE to launch a thorough probe into the matter, take action against those who had committed a mistake and ensure such things don't recur," he added.

Such contentious points lead to "some kind of a confusion and discrimination" among students, he added.

The AIADMK leader pointed out at the various pro-women initiatives launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as those piloted by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the past and said the sentences in question "insults freedom of women and those striving for it."

Invoking national poet Subramania Bharathy, he said he was a great votary of women's emancipation and that the controversial episode amounted to "crushing his dreams."