A group of Ambedkarites from Gujarat, earlier this week, submitted a letter of protest to the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office against “tweaking” a slogan by using Dr. B R Ambedkar in a Class 5 Gujarati textbook organized via the Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks. The group demanded to restore the slogan in its authentic shape whilst disposing of the tweaked portion from it. Following this, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama called a special meeting of the Education Department and the school textbooks board next week to examine if there may be a mistake this is required to be corrected.
The institution also gave a replica of the memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Social Justice & Empowerment Minister Ishvar Parmar, and Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama. The slogan using Ambedkar in the context – Educate, Agitate, Organise – has emerged as synonymous with the Dalit motion in Gujarat. In Gujarati, it is famous as “Shikshit Bano, Sangathhit Bano Ane Sangharsh Karo”. The activists are protesting “tweaking” of the slogan in Class five Gujarati textbook on Dr. Ambedkar, in a bankruptcy chapter titled ‘Bharat Ratna – Dr. Ambedkar,’ written by Hasyada Pandya. A component inside the chapter reads (in Gujarati), “Babasaheb nu Ek sutra ganthhe bandha jehu chhe: Shikshit Bano, Sangathhit Bano, Swavlamban j Sachi Sahay Chhe (One slogan of Babasaheb is really worth remembering: Educate, organize, and self-reliance is the genuine help).”
Referring to the slogan within the e-book, the Ambedkaraites who submitted the protest letter said that the slogan within the textbook changed into not via Dr. Ambedkar. “The unique slogan by way of Babasaheb (Ambedkar) is in English, ‘Educate, Agitate, Organise.’ It changed into the motto of Bahishrut Hitkarini Sabha based by way of Babasaheb in 1924. Babasaheb used this slogan in his inspirational speech addressing a meeting of All India Scheduled Castes Federation in 1945,” reads the protest letter. It stated that the unique slogan through Dr. Ambedkar is globally famous, and people ought to have chanted it in numerous instances. “Any discretionary exchange within the slogan now not most effective hurts sentiments of crores of followers of Babasaheb but may also be known as a distorted presentation of an ancient fact,” reads the protest letter.
The protest letter additionally compared the slogan with the slogan given through Subhash Chandra Bose — Tum Mujhe Khoon does, Main Tumhe Azadi Dunga — and said, “Can we imagine a slogan like – Tum Mujhe Paisa do, Main Tumhe Azadi Dunga – inside the call of our liked leader Subhash Chandra Bose? And that too in a textbook for kids?” “The books (of school textbook board) are vetted using experts. (But) This article by way of Hasyada Pandya has now not been vetted correctly. The professionals have now not completed their duty,” stated the protest letter at the same time as elevating questions over the source of information in the back of the slogan coined within the chapter.
The Ambedkarites have additionally said that ancient slogans by using mythical folks deliver inspiration to the destiny generations. “Such improper tampering with a slogan with the aid of Babasaheb (Ambedkar) inside the textbook of Class 5 will create a misconception inside the minds of kids, and it is not within the interest of every person,” the letter read. It is a historic slogan given using Dr. Ambedkar, tweaked in the textbook for youngsters. Raju Solanki, a mentioned human rights activist and literary discern from Gujarat, who led a delegation to put up the protest letter in Gandhinagar Tuesday, said, “This is a completely extreme issue. , We should get it corrected.”
It is to be mentioned that the textbook changed into first posted in 2014. And that is for the primary time that an objection has been raised towards it. Solanki said, “Somebody drew my attention to this mistake within the faculty textbook. We initiated motion as quickly as we got here to know about it. (Just due to the fact we came to understand past due about it) we can not let this error live in the textbook because it’s a distorted illustration of a slogan given by Dr. Ambedkar.”
Social Justice & Empowerment Minister Ishvar Parmar said that his workplace received the letter, and he has mentioned the difficulty with Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama. “Yes, my office has obtained the letter. I have, in my view, mentioned the difficulty with Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama. He informed me that the necessary movement might be taken on it.”
