Patna (Press Release/Insaaf Times) Umar Faruq Quadri, National Vice President of the Fraternity Movement and Former President of MANUU Students Union 2019-20, has condemned the decision made by NCERT to exclude the reference to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the revised political science textbook for Class 11. He strongly demands that the decision to remove Azad from textbooks be withdrawn immediately.

Faruq highlights that the exclusion of Azad from textbooks is another instance of the communal ideology that Azad fought against his entire life. The decision is an affront to the legacy of a nationalist leader like Azad who has played a significant role in shaping the Indian education policy.

Moreover, Faruq notes that this is not the first time that references to Azad have been removed. In 2022, the Ministry of Minority Affairs decided to discontinue the Maulana Azad Fellowship (MANF) which provided financial assistance for five years to students from six notified minorities — Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims, Parsis and Sikhs — to pursue MPhil and PhD.

Maulana Azad, as the first Education Minister of independent India, played a leading role in advocating for key reforms in the education sector such as free and compulsory primary education for all children up to 14 years. He was an architect of Indian education policy and a key founding member of the UGC, Jamia Millia Islamia, and various higher educational Institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, and the School of Planning and Architecture.

Faruq firmly believes that NCERT is working at the behest of RSS and implementing its anti-Muslim narrative. The exclusion of Azad from textbooks is a blatant attempt to erase the contributions of Muslim leaders and reinforce the dominant narrative of the RSS. He urges the NCERT to reconsider its decision and ensure that the contributions of leaders like Azad are included in textbooks.