In a UP textbook, freedom fighters are labelled terrorists

It was the last thing they had expected.

They were inured to anonymity and an indifferent bureaucracy. But the freedom fighters, the unsung heroes of India's Independence movement, had never expected that their own government would label them as terrorists.

Which is exactly what has happened in Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India. High School Samajik Vigyan, Part I, a text book on social science, prescribed by the Uttar Pradesh Intermediate Education Board for high school students, describes the heroes of the Independence movement as terrorists. The text book has been part of the UP curriculum for the last 15 years.

Among the contributors to the book are Fazaluddin Khan, Dr Hari Prasad Thapaliyal, Gyanwati Jalota, Professor Abdul Bahav, D S Bajpayee, Bulbul Mitra, Kaushal Kishore Chaturvedi, Nand Kumar Diwedi, Muni Varshnay and Raghu Raj Singh. The preface, by then education director and UPIEB president, Prabhakant Shukla, eulogises the writers, advisor and editor for publishing such valuable book. Shukla also stated that the purpose of the book was to create awareness amongst the students about discipline, national integrity and communal harmony.

Yet, page 179 which talks about Swantrata Ke Liye Bharat Ka Sangharsh (India's struggle for independence) states that a terrorist movement was taking place at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of 20th century.

Again, on page 280: 'In December, 1907, an attempt was made to kill the lieutenant-general of Bengal. In April 1908, Khudi Ram Bose and Praful Chakki hurled a bomb on a buggy which was suspected to carry Kingsford, the infamous officer of Muzaffarnagar... The era of revolutionary terrorism had started. A number of secret organisations were constituted by the terrorist youth. Soon, terrorist organisations sprung up in the rest of the country. The more important terrorists included Madan Lal Dhingra, 15-year-old Susheel Sen and Arvind Ghosh, apart from Khudi Ram Bose and Praful Chakki.'

A infuriated freedom fighter, Ratan Lal Garg, feels it is shameful for the nation to describe their heroes as terrorists. He said it is a humiliating insult to all freedom fighters because the martyrs described in the book had sacrificed their lives for the nation. Condemning the book, Garg demanded the controversial chapter be deleted immediately. He also plans to raise the issue with the Freedom Fighters Association.

Dr V B Chauhan, president, Uttar Pradesh College Principals Association and principal, Meerut College, said it is a very serious matter and demanded that the controversial chapter be scrapped immediately.