Government today assured the Rajya Sabha that it will look into a Shiv Sena member's demand to remove certain anomalies about Maratha leaders in CBSE history books.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Bharatkumar Raut (SS) said out of 2,100 pages in CBSE history books from Class 7 to 12, only one-and-a-half pages were dedicated to Maratha history and its leaders like Shivaji and Maharana Pratap.
Raut said while the contribution of Shivaji is dismissed in only a line and a half, that of Maharana Pratap is written in juse one line.
He said "wrong references" are made to Sufi saints from Maharashtra and some are referred to as "untouchables".
"What kind of nationalism we are spreading," Raut said.
Alleging that wrong references are made to Shivaji in the books of history by CBSE, he said, "Why do you want to distort history? What will the children learn?"
Supporting the demand to remove such anomalies in history books, Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) said two years ago there were wrong references made to Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose. "The same mistakes are being carried on. The way Shivaji and Maharana Pratap are referred to, they are national icons. This should not happen."
With several members supporting the demand, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien told the House, "I think Parliamentary Affairs Minister should bring to notice of HRD Minister", saying, "I have asked Government to look into it and act."
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said, "Government is concerned about national icons. There should be no reference which affects them. I will bring it to the notice of the HRD Minister, if it hurts the sentiments of some.
