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FOC
Shri Dina Nath Batra, national vice president of Vidya Bharati and convenor of Shiksha Bachao Andolan, has served a legal notice to Deepak Nayyar, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, S. C. Purohit, Executive Director, Mukta Adhyayan Vidyalaya (Open School) Delhi, Jahoor Siddiqui, author of an objectionable article and M/s J.K. Offset Printers, New Delhi for withdrawing a lesson titled Sampradayikta (communalism) authored by Jahoor Siddiqui and prescribed in a history textbook for BA (Pass) course of Delhi University. The lesson carries very derogatory and defamatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Dr K.B. Hedgewar.
It may shock the academic world to note that no proper research had been carried out by the educationists of Delhi University before prescribing the lesson Sampradayikta in a text-book for BA (Pass) students. The legal notice was served on April 1, 2005 by advocate Rajesh Gogna, on behalf of Shri Dina Nath Batra.
Through the notice, it has been demanded to immediately withdraw from circulation the objectionable lesson by Zahoor Siddiqui from the textbook and also tender an unconditional apology to the nation for insulting the spirit of freedom struggle and the ideas of great freedom fighters, failing which appropriate action would be taken against all accused without any further notice in this regard.
According to the notice ?the Article, while justifying the separatist tendencies of Muslim League, who engineered the Partition of India, blames Mahatma Gandhi and his concept of Ramrajya for inciting separatist tendencies in Muslims.? The lesson also carries very defamatory remarks against Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and accuses him of inciting communal riots and declaring him as a Hindu communal leader. The lesson states that Sardar Patel played a shameful role and surrendered before the communal forces. The lesson also carries baseless and defamatory accusations against Dr Hedgewar, a great freedom fighter and founder for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
No doubt, Zahoor Siddiqui, an activist of Communist party of India (Marxist) and brought up in a prejudiced ideology, was a victim of a jaundiced approach towards the freedom struggle of India and these chose to abuse the great freedom fighters and their noble ideologies in an objectionable language.
?The mental sickness of persons like Zahoor Siddiqui cannot and should not be allowed to be passed over to the coming generations,? the notice said.
?By publishing and circulating the above said article, the University of Delhi, Open School and Zahoor Siddiqui have committed the crime of insulting freedom fighters and their noble ideas and are polluting the young minds with their perverted ideas and ideologies. They have also misused the system of education for propagating a sick, anti-national and anti-freedom struggle ideology,? added the notice while warning that any further distribution and circulation of the above said articles would amount to crossing the limit of tolerance of the people of India and the members and sympathisers of Shiksha Bachao Andolan would be forced to take action to curb the insult to the father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi and to the nation Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr Hedgewar. (FOC)
