Jaipur: Rajasthan education minister Madan Dilawar clarified that the school syllabus will not be changed but asserted that whatever wrong is being taught in history textbooks should be replaced.
Criticising Mughal emperor Akbar for disrespecting women and fighting against Maharana Pratap, a patriot, Dilawar questioned as to why he is being called the "greatest ruler" in the history books. "Why is Akbar called great? He used to abduct mothers and sisters from Meena Bazaar and do immoral acts with them. How can he be great? Maharana Pratap has always fought for the country and for Mewar, so how can a person fighting against him be hailed as 'great' and be beneficial for the country?" he asked.
The education minister said, "Efforts are being deliberately made to give incorrect information and wrong dimension about our ancestors to the next generation. I am not in favour of changing the syllabus, but the portions that disregard our great man should be definitely removed."
Dilawar further said that it is unacceptable to read that Veer Savarkar was not a patriot and Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad were terrorists. "If our patriots are portrayed as terrorists, what impact will it have on the minds of our children? What direction will we give to our younger generation? We are reviewing our textbooks and if we come across portions where our ancestors and patriots are bring disrespected or wrongly portrayed then will try to delete those," he said.
The education minister said that Ayodhya Ram Mandir has been set up but attention has to be turned towards Mathura-Kashi. He said that until a grand temple of Lord Krishna is built at his birth place, he will have meal only once a day and not wear garlands.
Responding to the legal battle over Gyanvapi mosque, Dilawar said the entire country is happy with the verdict that is being given in favour of the Hindu side. It is now proved that the invaders vandalised the land of Lord Vishwanath and the premise had Hindu Gods. The final verdict will probably be that the Vishwanath temple should be expanded in Kashi, he added.
"The government is not using any force, but based on the evidence that will come up, everyone will have to accept the court's decision. It has also been proved from the remains in Mathura that this is the birthplace of Lord Krishna, he said.
On Congress' demand of changing the colour of bicycles that are to be distributed to students from saffron to black, he said that the grand old party symbolises 'black' when the entire country is 'rammay'. "When the country has been painted saffron what problem can one have if the bicycles are of the same colour?" he asked. Dilawar said that he will talk to the Chief Minister regarding distribution of the remaining laptops and tablets.
The education minister said that he has not issued any new order regarding hijaab in schools. "There is an existing order saying students should go to schools wearing uniforms. There is no new order in this. The order that existed during Congress period continues today as well." he said.
On the Congress state president's allegation of working on the agenda of RSS regarding Yoga practice and Surya Namaskar in schools from February 15, he said that the decision follows in the interest of the country and the society. "This agenda is not of RSS but of the entire country. If someone says that there is an agenda behind teaching patriotism, character building as well as teaching children to be honest and philanthropist then it is nothing wrong. The agenda of the entire country is same as our agenda," he said.
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