Review committee will probe 'terrorist' tag of Khudiram in Class VIII textbook: Partha

Kolkata: The state Education department has formed a review committee to probe how freedom fighter Khudiram Bose has been dubbed as a revolutionary terrorist in the history book of Class VIII published by West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).

During a question-answer session, state Education minister Partha Chatterjee said in the Assembly on Tuesday that a review committee has been constituted under the leadership of Jiban Mukhopadhyay to carry out an inquiry into the incident.

The committee will submit a report within three months, on the basis of which the Education department will take a decision, Chatterjee said.

The committee will fix accountability on how the mistakes had taken place in the history textbook published by the WBBSE. The review committee will check the facts, language and other aspects of the textbook.

It was an opposition MLA, who had pointed out in the Assembly that Khudiram Bose was mentioned as a terrorist in the history book for Class VIII. The Education minister subsequently assured the House that the matter would be looked into.

Chatterjee said that if there is indeed any such mistake, it would be rectified after the report is submitted by the review committee. The committee will also conduct an assessment of the standard of the textbooks of Classes V to XII.

It will also consider if the language of the textbooks can be made more lucid. The committee may make some recommendations to the department on the basis of its observation.

"The committee will examine the matter and it may seek the observations of eminent historians on the matter and find out whether the allegation is true. Our department will take a decision on the issue after the review committee submits its report," Chatterjee said.

A similar incident had come to light in 2014, when the history textbook of Class VIII had described the activities of freedom fighters like Khudiram Bose, Jatindranath Mukherjee and Prafulla Chaki as "extremism and terrorism".