Pakistan To Re-Write Anti-India, Hindus Curricula

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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This is a good sign. For 57 years history was distorted in Pakistani textbooks.

Pakistan To Re-Write Anti-India, Hindus Curricula

The minister said the aim was to “bring objectivity and truth to our books rather than hate material or terror tales.”

By Asif Farooqi, IOL Correspondent

ISLAMABAD, May 4 (IslamOnline.net) – Pakistan is set to re-write curricula taught at state-run schools, which contain anti-India and anti-Hindu material.

“We are doing it with a conviction, and that is, to bring objectivity and truth to our books rather than hate material or terror tales,” Pakistani Education minister Zubeda Jalal has told IslamOnline.net.

“There is a certain degree of misstatement of facts related to for example how our country came into being, which needs to be ratified,” she added.

The minister said the review of curricula is done regularly, denying reports that the county has given in to any “foreign pressures”.

The government has already set up a committee, headed by the education minister, to review the curricula taught at various levels, especially those books which relate with history, religion and social sciences.

Now the government has moved to “make the history books more realistic”.

“The material being taught at our schools fills the hearts and minds of the students with hatred against Hindus. It gives a wrong picture of the independence movement,” says A.H. Nayyar, a scholar whose curricula proposals are being considered by Jalal’s committee.

Nayyar believes that the changes in the books were made in the period of General Zia Ul Haq in the eighties, accusing Zia of bringing intolerance and religious-based hatred in the curriculum of students.

“According to our books, Hindus of India are to be blamed for the bloodshed and genocide of Muslims in the subcontinent at the time of partition,” Nayyar said, adding that this was not the whole truth and needed to be rectified.

External Pressure

But there are many who believe the government is amending the curricula, bowing to international pressure.

“The same changes which are now objectionable were made in the syllabus on the instructions from the U.S.,” argues professor Dushka Saiyid, the head of the history department in Quaid e Azam University.

She said the changes were only made to toe the U.S. line because the U.S. government wanted to omit subjects like “jihad”.

“How can you do away with Islamic heroes and concept of Jihad and Shahadat from the syllabus of the country where people actually have faith in them?” Saiyid wondered.

She said it is a fact that Hindus played politics against Muslims under the British mandate.

“There were problems between Hindus and Muslims at that time as there are problems now.”

Pakistan and Indian had fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Their armies routinely exchange fire along the 750 kilometer (465 miles) Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between both countries, and their 230 kilometer (143 mile) international border.

On May 2, 2003, they restored full diplomatic ties to settle half a century of disputes "for the economic and social betterment of their peoples.

The jerky start to peace moves led to the resumption of a bi-weekly bus service and the restoration of full diplomatic links.

Both countries agreed last February to a ‘roadmap’ of four-month discussions on disputes including the issue of Kashmir.

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About time.

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Mashallah! Now atleast our future will be free from coruption and hate!
:k:

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Please get ready for some valuable advice from our dear friend Mr El Turki. As you know, this topic is very close to his heart. :-)

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[QUOTE]
Mashallah! Now atleast our future will be free from coruption and hate!
[/QUOTE]

As long as the future generations don't get another biased extremist view from Pakistanis that's fine.

Also, as long as the future generations also know that others (outside Pakistan) have an ability to twist history text-books to generate hatred.

Are Pakistanis aware of what Indian history books taught to high-school boys and girls say about Jinnah? You'd be suprised!
So the struggle to enlighten people in Pakistan cannot stop at these measures - the youth also need to be told that a neighbouring country with whom more and more interaction may happen soon (judging from this forum it has already happened!) may also churn out biased mind-sets.

Here's an example: what do you think? - isn't India doing the opposite of what Pakistan is doing here? I thought it would not be necessary to bring in India on every discussion on Pakistan but ever since joining this forum I realized that when trying to discuss Pakistan and presenting my view on what PAKISTAN should do, I noted that Indians were the first to reply to me???? -

  1. "Did you know that Jesus Christ wandered the Himalayas and drew his inspiration from Hinduism? That a Hindu named Samundragupta built the Qutb Minar, originally known as Vishnu Sthambha? That the Taj Mahal was really a Hindu Temple known as Tejo-Mahalaya (Shiva's Palace)? That the Red Fort in Delhi was a Brahmin palace? Or that the largest Holocaust in history was perpetrated by Muslims against Hindus in India?

This is news to me. Probably is to most people. No, these are not extracts from a child's fable nor the impression of a lunatic few. These "historical truths" have been taught for many years at more than 22,000 Vidya Bharati schools operated by the Hindutva movement composed of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) also known as the World Hindu Council, Shiv Sena (Shiva's army) and the Bajrang Dal.

Now thanks to a recent decision, these distortions and falsifications are not only being disseminated by the right wing Hindu organizations but by leading educational bodies in the India. Despite widespread opposition, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the body responsible for developing school curriculum in India, decided in November 2002 to rewrite Indian history texts. "It is not a question of revivalism," says the center's director, Physicist J. S. Rajput, in an interview published by the Washington Post late last year. "Every country should write its history from its own point of view. Our history books have been written from a Euro-centric view because we were a colony for so long. History books should instill a sense of pride in the young mind and should be rooted in our culture."

Critics contend that the saffron brigade is using history as a tool for mythmaking and patriotism. Historical research and teaching has become a battleground for the identify and future of the nation. The situation is so grave that the Indian History Congress (IHC), the largest membership- based association of academic historians, passed a unanimous resolution setting up a committees to examine NCERT's new history textbook at its 63rd annual conference in Amritsar. The IHC concluded its conference on December 30, 2002 on a note of caution stressing that it would remain vigilant in the face of subversive activities of the communal forces in its mission to safronise history.

Interestingly, even before the BJP embarked on its project to rewrite history, there were complaints about bias in history textbooks. In fact, as early as the Fifties and Sixties there were suggestions that textbooks in Gujarat and Maharashtra were inaccurate. A Parliamentary committee, which included Professors K. G. Saiyidin, J. P. Naik and Gopinath Aman appointed to look into these charges, found that historical events were "presented in a manner as to arouse and perpetuate prejudice against certain religious groups." The committee concluded that "the books were overweighed with Hindu mythologyÉHindu beliefs are presented in a manner as if they were universally held by all Indians." As is the case with most commission reports, the findings were shelved by the authorities.

With the BJP's victory in four states in 1991, the issue surfaced again as the newly elected governments started rewriting history to promote the political ideology of Hindutva. The governments even directed college libraries to stock titles with clear communal overtones such as Why Hindu Rashtra? Hum Mandir Wohin Banayenge (We Would Build the Temple There Only), Shilanyas se Shikhar ki Ore (From Laying the Foundation Stone to Attaining the Peak), etc.

Anyone following the developments in India would have at least heard of the attempts to rewrite history, but not many are fully aware of the magnitude and scope of the endeavor.

In addition to working at the grass roots by changing school curriculum the BJP is also working at higher levels. In 1998, India's Minister for Human Resources and Development, Murali Manohar Joshi, an ardent Hindutva supporter, reconstituted the once respected Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR] by appointing Hindutva leaning members. In fact, of the eighteen new members appointed at the time, four where members of the World Hindu Council's panel that worked to promote the idea of a temple at the site of the Babri Mosque and five others were closely associated with the movement. In February 2000, the ICHR stopped the publication of two volumes of Towards Freedom, a projected multi-volume history research project. Despite widespread protest and opposition from historians both within and outside India, the 1940 volume edited by Professor P.N. Panikkar of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the 1946 volume edited by Professor Sumit Sarkat of Delhi University were scrapped. The current head of the ICHR is none other than B. R. Grover, an open supporter of the extremist VHP with a well-documented history of communalistic politics, including openly supporting the razing of the 400-year old Babri Mosque in 1992.

Nothing appears sacred to these writers. In fact, even the father of Indian independence, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is not spared. Hindutva historians sideline his role and attempt to justify and excuse his assassination by the Hindu extremist (a fact conspicuously left out from Hindutva textbooks) Nathuram Godse.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Faisal: *
Please get ready for some valuable advice from our dear friend Mr El Turki. As you know, this topic is very close to his heart. :-)
[/QUOTE]

Good one Faisal :biggthumb See ^

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Apparently ET you have not read history textbooks used in Indian schools.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Faisal: *
Please get ready for some valuable advice from our dear friend Mr El Turki. As you know, this topic is very close to his heart. :-)
[/QUOTE]

Faisal Bhai, I am disappointed. If someone has Pakistan close to his heart it doesn't mean we should mock him. If Mr. El-Turki says something incorrect then go ahead and challenge him on that. I applaud Mr. El Turki, whose more knowledgable and strongerr defender of Pakistan than many Pakistanis themselves.

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RF, ET is exactly that… an ET. the whole safronization agenda was killed in 2002. Go do some google and report back. Friggin cut’n’paste artists :rolleyes:

It is quite pathetic when you have to rely on forrest gump as your defender…

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[QUOTE]
RF, ET is exactly that... an ET. the whole safronization agenda was killed in 2002. Go do some google and report back. Friggin cut'n'paste artists
[/QUOTE]

Here we go again - the personal attacks!.

BTW am not "defending" anyone - just want to share my views with others - what I try to post, just like others, are facts and opinions which try to address a thread. You have your own way: preaching friendship based on "India's economy", mutual trade, etc. ..........
I have my own way: which is that Pakistan need not restrict itself to India - there's a bigger world out there: as the millions of Indians living outside India (and Pakistan) will testify. So what I want is not just Indians and Pakistanis using Pakistan-oriented forums like these.
That'll only happen (in my view) when Pakistanis will stop shying away from others besides Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.

So just wanna try to air my views. Thanks for using the kind of language you do repeatedly- everyone who uses this site can see the difference between your posting and mine.

Hmmm.............speaking of cut and paste, why don't people visit BJP's website today. I mean you said it yourself that BJP is a better choice for India. Why not visit the website TODAY and see if "saffronization" died in 2002?? I mean come on, BJP is a leading party in India trying to win the elections again so surely if Indian democracy works, then people voting for it (everyday, common Indian voting for it) is aware of their stances and philosophies.

In fact in my view, India's attitude suddenly changed after Pakistan successfully retaliated to the Indian nuclear tests in 1998.
In the brief days that elapsed before Pakistan did it and India had already done it, Indians were treating Pakistan with a lot of disrespect (and the economic gains of India had started!) and using all sorts of threats and intimidating language.
Then suddenly after Pakistan succeeds, ..............."O ho ho - peace - peace - hum sab bhai bhai, let's have peace and develop economically and come closer together".
Only after that did Indian leaders start having "visions of peace", "handshakes"........................I really think Pakistanis know all this but (like Arabs!) they have become lazy and don't want to analyze things all the way. Or maybe they are used to wiling away the time - no harm in interacting with Indians on frivolous topics like "tablas" and mvoies on websites but when they mean business...........well you know what happened on August 14 1947! (British rule ended with the birth of Pakistan on the 14th not on the 15th!!! or do people like you not recognize Pakistan's independence some hours earlier?), you know that the nuclear tests were matched within a lesser timeframe,..............................................
I hope I can win people like Faisal with this! The country has tremendous potential beyond playing second fiddle to an eastern neighbour's ulterior machinations.

Anyway, doesn't matter what people think when it comes to airing views - you keep airing yours and I mine. Poeple have the ability to read and comprehend things.
"Rajput Fury" - thanks for your sentiments. Actually I have also learnt that appearances can be deceptive - you may have people having Arabic usernames "Faisal" (meaning decisive) and they have views which are totally different to people with user names like yours "Rajput Fury" ( honestly, I thought you would be an ethnocentric and closed-minded person but far from it!) -
I hope OTHERS can also try to learn that appearances can be deceptive!

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El Turki - your msgs seem to have only one agenda, that of warning pakistanis about indian hegemonious designs. That's all fne and well, but what does it have to do with correcting text books and bringing children up unbiased? If our schools and govt is still doing it (as you claim), then it will be our junta that grows up warped. does it mean pakistan should continue to match our mentality, just to play the tit for tat game? you have to be on another plane to equate bjp saffronization with correcting text books!!

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El Turki,

There are groups in India which go around talking about the stuff you did, just as there are enough groups which claim that the Americans did the 9/11 stuff themselves so that they would have an excuse to attack Afghanistan.

But believe me, that is not what is taught in the history text books in India, inspite of the very recent attempts to 'correct' history.

From what I remember of my history text books, the only mention about Jinnah goes something like this: "... the Muslim League under the leadership of MA Jinnah, under the mistaken notion that muslims will not have equal rights in independent India, passed a resolution..." The books talk about violence on both sides of the border and how Gandhi tried his best to stop them on the Bengal border. History and other text books, if they talk about religion, mention how 'hindus, muslims, sikhs, christians stood shoulder to shoulder' (god, I hate the cliche), etc. Students have to learn world history and Indian history itself covers a huge geography. The whole of the freedom movement, from 1857 to 1947 would probably be covered in just one year.

On the nuclear issue, be practical. The whole world knew that Pak had a bomb. This was no surprise to anybody, including India. Analysis of the hair droppings from a saloon in the vicinity of Pak's nuclear facilities provides enough information re what is happening inside. In any case, these test happened in 1998 and this bhai bhai thing in 2004. And, you say that India backtracked because of Pak's response in '98?

I am all for your advise to Pakistanis about how they should not be swept off their feet. I agree. One should keep one's windows open, but the feet firmly on the ground. I know you mean the same, but your posts could be interpreted as asking people to close their windows as well. Sadly, that would be the beginning of deterioration.

ps: re: the Christ bit, I read about it in GS. That Christ's grave is in Srinagar.

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Re: Pakistan To Re-Write Anti-India, Hindus Curricula

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by imran dhanji: *
This is a good sign. For 57 years history was distorted in Pakistani textbooks.

[/QUOTE]

good, about time.

now, what I find very interesting is that I saw a documentary on the rise of extremist Hinduism on History channel quite some time ago. In it some BJP dude was wailing and bitching about he's going to have the history books in India rewritten to erase any credit to Muslims for their accomplishments in combined India. He was sitting in some protest somewhere near the Shaheed Babri Majid's site when the interview was recorded. The reporter said, "but sir that would be simply not true, and hence not qualify as history". The good guy that the BJP goon was said that it doesn't matter and that "would be even better since history will finally be written the way it should always have been written".

So, I take it Imran Dhanji you will be writing an article about this fascinating and earth-shattering topic as well and will as always post your radically new and original thoughts i here? Thank you in advance. I look forward it.

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Samby, when the lone goon is successful in having our history books distorted THEN it becomes a fascinating and earth shattering topic.

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Hindus have their own house cleaning to do.

http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CL08Df01.html

India sanitizing its past
By Sultan Shahin

NEW DELHI - The Taliban are dead, long live Talibanism! This slogan seems to characterize the Indian government’s attitude to education, particularly history.

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this article is 3 yrs old, and matsui and csraja have already discussed the 'attempted' sanitization of textbooks and how it was thwarted.

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^ Its takes a lot more then 3 years to sanitise, but its a good start and must be done several times over given hindu hatred of of muslims.

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Abdali bhai, i'm a little curious....do you often wonder about how much further ahead in life you could be right now if all the thousands upon thousands of hours you've dedicated to fantasizing about India's downfall had been productively put to use?

You constantly speak of Indian hatred towards Pakistan...yet every post of yours that i've read is somehow related to India bashing. Do you lay awake at night thinking about what cynical anti-India remarks you plan on injecting into Gupshup.org threads the following morning? I really hope your life is better than what it seems like!

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by nikhil25: *
Abdali bhai, i'm a little curious....do you often wonder about how much further ahead in life you could be right now if all the thousands upon thousands of hours you've dedicated to fantasizing about India's downfall had been productively put to use?

You constantly speak of Indian hatred towards Pakistan...yet every post of yours that i've read is somehow related to India bashing. Do you lay awake at night thinking about what cynical anti-India remarks you plan on injecting into Gupshup.org threads the following morning? I really hope your life is better than what it seems like!
[/QUOTE]

Mabye if you had bothered to read some of the very anti-Pakistani statements buy our indian guppies on a Pakistani board you would do the same as Abdail., Nice obe Abdail!

Brother El-Turki, I loved your post very informative!

Matsui, please stop with the personal attacks, but i suppose when you cant possibily respond with a competent answer you have to lash out... Its human nature~!