Muslim organisations in the Congress-governed Indian state of Rajasthan have lodged a police complaint against the state texbook board and a private publisher for objectionable content being taught to students in higher secondary classes.
The Rajasthan Muslim Forum, an apex body of Muslims in the state, has sought legal action against the publishers of a political science textbook from the Rajasthan State Textbook Board for "spreading hatred against Islam".
Speaking to Sputnik, Mohsin Rasheed Tonk, on whose complaint the police have registered a case, said, "This is the second case of its kind where hate against Islam is being spread through textbooks. Last month we got a police complaint registered against objectionable content in textbooks being taught for teacher training. If teachers' minds are poisoned against Islam what will they teach the students?"
The political science textbook has a chapter on "Terrorism, Criminalisation of Politics and Corruption" where it quotes anonymous experts stating that "Commitment to a particular religion is the main trend of Islamic terrorism".
Tonk, who is also state co-ordinator of Congress Minority Department of Rajasthan, told Sputnik, "Imagine that my child is sitting in the classroom where the teacher reads out from the textbook that Islamic terrorism is a strand of Islam. Other students in the class will look at him with hatred".
"The child will either feel ashamed or will fight with them. This kind of education was promoted by the BJP government that got changes made in the textbook to this effect", he added.
Quoting anonymous experts, the chapter also says that "in Islamic terrorism the terrorist has excessive devotion to Islam rather than any faction or group".
The writer describes Islamic terrorism as "martyrdom, perpetrating unlimited barbarism, forcibly amassing wealth and killing and committing atrocities on innocent people ruthlessly in a most ghastly manner in the name of Allah are some of the features of Islamic terrorism".
It goes on to say that "this form of Islam has killed and intimidated more Muslims than other people".
Surender Singh, a senior official in the Rajasthan state police department who is investigating the case, told Sputnik: "We have filed a case under sections of the Indian Penal Code for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion. We have summoned the publishers and are investigating".
