April 2018

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ASIA
April 2018
Dalmia Bharat group 'adopts' Red
Fort; Cong questions govt move
How private entity given mandate to maintain the iconic structure, asks opposition party
New Delhi : The Congress on
Saturday questioned how a private
entity was given the mandate to maintain
the iconic Red Fort, days after a
corporate house signed an agreement
with the tourism ministry under its
'Adopt a Heritage' project.
The Dalmia Bharat group, under
the memorandum of understanding,
would maintain the monument and
build basic infrastructure around it and
has committed a sum of Rs 25 crore
for the purpose over a period spanning
five years.
"They are handing over the iconic
monument to a private business. What
is your commitment to the idea of
India, to the history of India? We
know you have no commitment, but
we still want to ask you," Congress
spokesperson Pawan Khera told
reporters here.
"Do you have dearth of funds. Why
funds for the ASI (Archaeological
Survey of India) lapse, why do they
lapse. See the CAG (Comptroller and
Auditor General) reports. If they have
paucity of funds, then why do they
lapse," he asked.
IndiGo Airlines and the GMR
23 chapters on Sikh history
in Class XII book removed
Chandigarh/Patiala : The deletion of 23
chapters from the Class XII history book of the
Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) — pertaining
to important aspects of the Sikh history—
has raised a storm in the state.
The PSEB, after reviewing the syllabus, has
reportedly removed the chapters concerning the
history of Sikh gurus and their teachings —
Anglo-Sikh wars; the rule of Maharaja Ranjit
Singh and annexation of Punjab among others,
from the textbook.
While newly inducted Education Minister OP
Soni said he was not aware of this, PSEB officials
admit that certain
chapters from the last
year’s syllabus have
been deleted to “bring
the syllabus on a par
with the National
Council of Educational
Research and Training
(NCERT)”.
They added that
these chapters would
now be taught in Class
XI, and the new textbooks were currently in
print. However, the syllabus of class XI, circulated
online to some schools, does not mention that
the ancient Sikh history will be included in their
textbooks. It is learnt that while a print order for
11,000 history books was made, 3,500 have
already been printed. The new syllabus of Class
XII , without the above mentioned chapters, has
also been shared online with the affiliated
schools.
Among other important aspects of Punjab history
that are no longer part of the Class XII history
book are chapters on Sikh struggle against
Mughals and Ahmad Shah Abdali and the origin
and growth of Sikh Misls and Banda Singh
Bahadur. These have been replaced by chapters
on modern history, early and medieval history
and political and economic developments in
these periods and the rise of nationalism and
freedom struggle.
As the matter took political overtones with
former Education Minister and SAD spokesperson
Daljit Singh Cheema demanding a high-level
probe and action against officials guilty of deleting
chapters and wrote a letter to Chief Minister
Amarinder Singh, the latter dismissed as malicious
the SAD’s allegation of deletion of chapters
on Sikh gurus.
Lambasting Akali Dal leaders for trying to
spread “misinformation” on a sensitive religious
issue, the CM said Akalis had shown gross irresponsibility
by making a baseless public statement
without bothering to check on the facts.
“The fact is that the courses have merely been
realigned with the
NCERT syllabus to
enable students from
Punjab to compete at the
national level," said the
Chief Minister, making it
clear that not even a single
word had been deleted
by the board.
The history chapters
had been now spread
across classes XI and
XII, on the recommendation of an expert committee,
of which a SGPC representative was also
a member, he said. He added that under his directive,
a chapter on the lives of four Sahibzadas
had been incorporated in the textbooks.
Prof Gurmeet Singh Sidhu, head of the
department of religious studies, Punjabi
University, said the PSEB had omitted major
parts of Punjab history from classes XI and XII
syllabus. Moreover, the facts were wrong and
history had been distorted.
“Removing the Sikh history means we are
depriving our students of knowing their past,
which is highly damaging for any culture. I have
read Class XII and I am shocked to find so many
factual errors in the book, which shows that the
board was least concerned about Punjab history.
We have constituted a three-member committee
which will be presenting a report to the CM and
the Education Minister, along with supporting
documents highlighting all mistakes,” he said.
group were also in the race to bag the
project.
The Dalmia Bharat group has
agreed to provide certain basic amenities
at the 17th century monument
within six months. These include providing
drinking water kiosks, street
furniture-like benches and signages to
guide the visitors, according to the
ministry. The entity has also agreed to
put up within a year tactile maps,
upgrade toilets, light up the pathways
and bollards, carry out restoration
work and landscaping and build a
1,000 sq ft visitor facility centre.
It will also provide a 3-D projection
mapping of the fort's interior and exterior,
battery-operated vehicles and
charging stations for such vehicles and
a thematic cafeteria.
Responding to Khera's remarks,
Minister of State for Tourism K J
Alphons said under the scheme started
last year, the ministry is looking at
public participation to develop heritage
monuments.
"The companies involved in these
projects will only spend and not make
money. They will create amenities
such as toilets, provide drinking water
7
for the tourists so that their footfalls
increase. They might put up signs outside
to say that they have developed
the amenities. If they are spending
money, there is nothing wrong in taking
credit for it," he said.
"I want to ask the Congress what
they did for the past 70 years. All the
monuments and facilities around them
are in terrible shape. In some places,
there were no facilities at all," he said.
As of March this year, 31 prospective
'monument mitras' (friends of heritage
sites) have been shortlisted by a
oversight and vision committee for
developing tourist-friendly amenities
at 95 monuments, heritage and other
tourist sites including the Red Fort,
Qutub Minar (in Delhi), Hampi
(Karnataka), Sun Temple (Odisha),
Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra), Char
Minar (Telangana) and Kaziranga
National Park (Assam).