| The Main Page | Textbook Controversy - A symptom of a far greater disease!- "The Observer" contributed this special report upon request of Guruforum International A textbook controvery related to the 7th standard socail studies book has been going on in Kerala during the last few weeks (June 2008). The main players in the controversy are the Church and the Left Democratic Govt of Kerala. Later some Muslim (League) leaders and the UDF parties have joined the fight. Background: A new textbook was issued for the "Social Studies" subject for the 7th standard by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front government this academic year. According to the Catholic Church, the book indoctrinates children with atheistic thoughts and a communist ideology. A pastoral letter issued by head of Syro Malabar Church Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil was read in churches under the Ernakulam archdiocese. The letter said that the church can not subscribe to an educational reform intended to cast both God and religion out of people's lives.In churches under various other diocese, circulars and pamphlets issued by the bishops concerned against the textbook were read. A meeting of Muslim organisations here on Thrusday asked the Kerala Govt to withdraw 'anti-religious' school textbook issued to class VII students under the new curriculum this year. The meeting warned the government of strong agitation if it failed to agree to its demand. The meeting was called by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Panakkad Muhammadali Shihab Thangal. "The book has contents that are against religion. We have formed a high-power committee with presidents and secretaries of all organisations, which attended the meeting, as members. The committee will meet the chief minister and education minister soon, and will submit a petition. If they fail to resolve the issue, we will launch an intense agitation," Thangal told reporters after the meeting. The Muslim groups are incensed at a chapter in the textbook under heading "Life without religion". The organisations allege that the Communist-led state government is 'indoctrinating' students with irreligious ideas and certain political beliefs. Guruforum Analysis: Counter Reformation in action! Guruforum does not support the agitation, street violence and the general noise in the name of the textbook. At the same time, after going through the textbook, we do not think this book takes us any nearer to eradicating superstition or rituals, not to talk about eradicating religion. The quality of the book is very very low, we have to say! The contents, the presentation etc of very low quality while the objetives too remain obscure! There are serious questions on whether a 7th standard Social Studies book should be the platform to do discuss A-Z issues. On the other hand, the Church leaders taking this issue of a third rate textbook to the streets, cannot be supported either! Seems to be a "storm in a teacup". The whole issue is only a symptom of what we have been warning - Counter Reformation in Action in Kerala - affecting all the major religions here - Hindus, Christians and Moslems alike. A Glance Through the Book with some comments from us. Here are some pages from the book with some comments. More comments will appear here in text later.
Life without Religion
Hypocrisy The leftist book is a sub-standard attempt to portray 'progressive outlook'! While leftists have failed during the last 60 years (like everyone else) in taking the reformation movements of the pre-independent era forward, such 'textbook' revolutions do not serve any purpose. In recent months, many CPM ministers have appeared in meetings presided by well known 'godmen'! This is the ultimate paradox! A party opposing religion is playing lullaby to living gods!! (More on this will appear here)! Low Quality Print! Besides the contents, one is amazed at the low quality of the print and the paper! Long back in the 1960s, the text books were printed in quality paper and ink. As good or even better than the Mathrubhumi Weekly, the highest standard magazine at that time! Nowadays, the textbooks look like some third rate street book with drawings, pictures and print of lowest quality! In comparison, even daily newspapers are printed with color pictures and some weeklies are even printed on glossy paper! What an inversion of the standards in our free democratic India! We have high quality books in the market from DC Books, Current, Mathrubhumi etc . So the aberration is only for the Govt controlled textbooks! Pathetic! Kerala Kaumudi site has a link to the
book in pdf format. Here it is Download
7th Standard Book (Rightclick and Save) The following comments are part of the letters to Kerala Kaumudi... for the whole, please see the links above. - "Why bring the untouchable era into the
textbook? A passing reference would have been enough. Now
it seems a deliberate attempt to politicise the
matter." - " The agitation is a political stunt;" - "This book does not say anything against any caste, religion, or party." - "There is nothing WRONG in the book. And there is nothing GOOD in the book as well." - " But CPI (M) leaders send their children to Europe and USA. Why did not Pinarayi send his son to China or some other communist country for his MBA instead of to England?" - "I could not find anything condemnable as claimed by various religious groups and UDF. How so much controversy in connection with the book?" - " I am not an educational expert, but I feel there are chapters that need revision before they go into classrooms. An example is 'Mathamillatha Jeevan'. ...But why should the idea of non-religion be given in a textbook? " - "'Life without Religion' is a wrong subject where majority of population (80%?) believes in one religion or the other. ....what about a subject "Politics without communists' who promised heaven on earth, equality among all men and women but failed miserably around the world and proved capitalism a better way of achieving equality. "Life without Religion"We were wondering what exactly was the most controversial comments. Now comes the confirmation on 15th July...
"Experts" have proven themselves that they are part of a post-independent social and political setup which has been corrupted to the core in recent times by our third calss aikyamunnani politics. This way the book is a good reflection of the "poor standards" we are following! Religions have been opposed in the past. Many books carried Sahodaran Ayyappans modfied slogan " No case, no religion, no god for man!" No one objected those days. Also Sree Narayana Guru's "One caste, one religion, one God" is in harmony with only Mohammed's "Allah is the only God!", as per some interpretation. Otherwise in close scrutiny it is in conflict with Hindu and Christian beliefs, if not religion. But no one objected. Swami Vivekanandas speech in 1983 in Chicago was in reality 100% opposite to the prevaling Christian concept of "sin". But no one objected, instead people applauded. In all these cases, the language and the motive of the great Gurus made the difference! Here the book's language, presentation and above all the motives are all hopeless! And also the parties and their leaders who championed the book did not follow a word of it! Edamaruku Joseph once wrote that a revolutionary party's leader and former MP, was an imposter and superstitious person who first secretly and then openly went to the temples to pray, while lecturing against religion in party meetings! CPM's KR Gowri once admitted that she was secret devotee of Guruvayoor! (Gowri Amma forgets that as an Ezhava, she was barred from entering the temple until 1945!) CPM's E.M.S Namboothiripad is known, if not notorious., for his opposition to Narayana Guru and SNDP! EMS classified Guru as a "bourgeois" once! (see Bourgeois Narayana Guru). Not surprisingly the book does not mention neither Narayana Guru nor Ayyankali by name! The book also conveniently omits Buddha, while mentioning other religious leaders/books by name! The book is a typical example of the "Vaachaka Viplavam" which we don't see in real life or practice! While advocating against the religion, the same left parties have failed to eradicate down to earth superstitions from the majority of their supporters!
While the left Governments were in power several malpractices in the name of religion took place in Kerala, and still going on! Much more than during the British Raj or the Janmi Rule which the book is opposing vehemently! In recent months also several of the CPM and CPI leaders appeared alongwith controversial spiritual leaders and even "godmen"! It is also reported that a leftist minister did "Satrusamhara pooja" at a temple! Ashes of a leftist Chief Minister were spread in sacred places! Mafia leaders have amassed money of the order of 1000 crores or more easily in spite of the preachings and rule of the left parties! None of these issues appeares in the book! It is easy to blame everything on the British! "God" and "Religion" are not one and the same thing! One can believe in God (a super power of the Universe or Energy) without believing in a convnetional or religious god who rewards you for prayers and contributions to religious bodies! Man created God and not the other way! This is not our argument, the famous Verse 129 in Rig Veda on the origin of the Universe says Neither being (sat) nor non-being was as yet. What was concealed? And where? And in whose protection?…Who really knows? Who can declare it? Whence was it born, and whence came this creation? The devas(=gods) were born later than this world's creation, so who knows from where it came into existence? None can know from where creation has arisen, and whether he has or has not produced it. He who surveys it in the highest heavens, he alone knows-or perhaps does not know. (Rig Veda 10. 129) Bottom Line: To sum up, this book and the controversy is a worthless cause. Forum reiterates that the book is a sub-standard one, like many other textbooks of today. On the other hand, taking the issue of a worthless book to street and street fights and communal dis-harmony by the religious and political leaders too cannot be supported. True religions are not affected by such comments in a propaganda book. The people of Kerala are once again wasting tehir precious time and energy on worthless causes. As Swami Vivekandanda put it more than a 100 years ago, we are heading towards creating a modern "Brandaalayalm" in Kerala! |
