After receiving a letter from the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) to the education ministry, the NCERT revised the Class 12 political science textbook, Politics in India since Independence, to delete all references to Khalistan.
On page 159 of the textbook, the sentences were written in reference to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution 1973. The phrase ‘interpreted as a plea for a separate Sikh nation’ has been removed from the sentence ‘The resolution was a plea for strengthening federalism, but it would also be interpreted as a plea for a Sikh nation.’
The sentence in the book that stated ‘More extreme elements started advocating succession from India and creation of Khalistan’ has been deleted.
According to a paragraph in the book, a faction of the Akali began calling for political autonomy for the region in 1970, with a focus on regional autonomy.
There was a mention of the armed insurgency and the cycle of violence in Punjab in the next sentence. The sentence also mentions Operation Bluestar.
However, a section about the murder of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is still included in the textbook.
The section will not be included in textbooks; the changes will only be made to the PDF online versions. In response to the request, the NCERT published a correction.
A committee of specialists was formed by the NCERT to look into the matter in light of the concerns raised by the SGPC, and as a result, amendments were made to chapter 6 of the book. Sanjay Kumar, secretary of the department of schools and education, commented on the matter and stated that the SGPC requested the adjustments.
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