Congress, BJP lock horns over NCERT’s New ‘Partition’ module: What is it and why the clash? EXPLAINED in 5 points
Delhi: Sparks flew between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday over NCERT’s new Partition module, which squarely points fingers at the Grand Old Party, Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and India’s last Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, holding them responsible for the partition.
While Congress fumed, demanding the module be scrapped—and even “burnt”—the BJP shot back, and said that the “Rahul-Jinnah” party was upset about the truth coming out.
1. What is NCERT’s new ‘Partition’ module?
NCERT’s new modules about the India’s Partition – one for the middle stage (Classes 6-8) and another for the secondary stage (Classes 9-12) – were released in August to mark Partition Remembrance Day.
The material underscores that “the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan were by no means inevitable,” attributing responsibility to “Jinnah, who demanded it; the Congress, which accepted it; and Mountbatten, who formalised and implemented it,” as per ANI.
The secondary stage module notes, “None of the Indian leaders had experience in running national or even provincial administration, the army, police, etc. Hence, they had no idea of the massive problems that would naturally arise… Otherwise, such haste would not have been made.”
2. Congress slams NCERT Partition modules
Congress leader Pawan Khera refuted the claims made in the book, further stating that the modules be “burnt”. He further went on to say that “if history has the biggest villain, it is the RSS,” claiming that India’s partition was because of the “collaboration between the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League.”
3. What did BJP say?
The BJP hit back at Congress for objecting to NCERT’s new Partition module, accusing the opposition of being rattled because, as per him, the “truth” has been brought out.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia labelled the Congress as “Rahul-Jinnah party” and alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s worldview mirrors that of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, mentioned a report by news wire ANI.
4. ‘Partition was not a normal incident’
Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) member secretary, Dr Om Jee Upadhyay in a video statement said, “..Partition was not a normal incident, but it is one of the most tragic incidents of history where 1.5 crore people were forced to cross boundaries…12-15 lakh people were brutally murdered..The new generation should know the truth so that they can learn from it and ensure that such incidents don’t happen in the future…I do not think that there is any factual mistake in the modules and nobody has pointed out any factual mistakes,” reported HT.
5. Partition of India
Seventy-nine years ago, when Britain withdrew from the subcontinent, its colony, India, was split into two nations—India and Pakistan, with East Pakistan later emerging as Bangladesh.
The event which came along with India’s independence, on August 15, 1947, also unleashed one of the largest upheavals in history, forcing around 15 million people from their homes and leaving nearly a million dead in waves of communal violence.
