The government of Rajasthan recalls some textbooks on the Godhra incident of 2002; this matter will not be taught

The Rajasthan government has recalled some textbooks containing chapters on the 2002 Godhra train fire incident and said the subject will no longer be taught in government schools.

The textbooks were previously recalled due to “technical deficiencies” and an “audit” would be carried out to assess the quality of the paper and printing.

Education Minister Madan Dilawar alleged that the killers were glorified in the Godhra incident and accused the previous Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government of misleading the children by giving wrong information about the incident.

“Lies are being spread about the Godhra incident and society is becoming divided. Those who set fire to the train in Godhra are glorified as Hindus and called criminals. Wrong things were said about the then government of Gujarat,” he said. .

Dilawar accused former Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra of deliberately conspiring to mislead the children about the incident through these recalled books. Dotasra, however, said he did not approve the books during his time in office and accused Dilawar of lying.

The recalled books include ‘Jeevan Ki Bahar’, ‘Chitti Ek Kutta Aur Uska Jungle Farm’, And ‘Adrishya log – Story of hope and courage’. They were used to teach students from grades 9 to 12. The state government has asked the district education officials to withdraw all instances from government-run schools.

One of the recalled books, ‘Adrishya Log – Story of Hope and Courage’, was written by social worker Harsh Mander, a former IAS officer from the Chhattisgarh MP cadre. He currently works at an NGO and retired after the 2002 Gujarat riots.

In the book, Mander described his experiences that the Godhra train attack was a “terrorist conspiracy” and how Muslims were targeted and tortured after the incident. It is said that many children are still missing, while those belonging to other religions live by hiding their identities to avoid the fear of persecution.

Recently, a CBI probe was ordered against Mander over allegations of violations of foreign donation law.

On February 27, 2002, the S6 bus of the Sabarmati Express, carrying pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, was set on fire at the Godhra railway station in Gujarat, killing 59 people. The incident acted as a catalyst and led to widespread violence and clashes in the state, leaving 1,044 people dead.