The A’chik Holistic Awakening Movement (AHAM) had demanded the Education department to withdraw the Social Science textbook for Class III students and that the authors should correct the errors, that has hurt the sentiments of all the three tribes in Meghalaya.
“If the situation is not handled as soon as possible, the organisation would file a lawsuit for distributing false information and misrepresenting the facts,” AHAM in a statement said.
The organisation said the authors of an NCERT book which is a part of the syllabus of Class III have been providing wrong information which will certainly spread misinformation to the student community.
“Strict measures must be taken to rectify the mistakes and re-edit the textbooks as the textbook mentions that Bengali, Nepali and Marathi are the languages spoken in the state of Meghalaya. The absence of information about the three indigenous tribes—the Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia or their respective languages in the book reveals the authors’ lack of expertise,” the organisation added.
AHAM said the school authorities should also immediately withdraw the books from the school even as it pointed out that there are many mistakes. “The information provided about other states are wrong and festivals are also wrongly listed,” it said.
It may be mentioned that under the ‘States, their Capitals and Language Spoken’ lesson the languages mentioned in the book that Meghalaya people speak are, “Bengali, Nepali and Marathi”.
The principal languages in Meghalaya are Khasi, Pnar and Garo with English as the official language of the State.
The book authored by Dr. Dhananjay Joshi and Neelam Jain was published by Bright Star Books International. 521-Vasnat Kunj, New Delhi-110070 and reportedly approved by the NCERT.
The Khasi Students Union (KSU), Northern Border area had also lodged an FIR.
The textbook was used by students of Little Star Senior Secondary School, 9th Mile, Baridua in Ri Bhoi district.
