ABVP Students Protest Against IGNOU Text Book
Hundreds of protestors angry at the insulting references to Hindu Gods and Goddesses in the Indira Gandhi Nehru Open University (IGNOU) text book, on Wednesday, attacked its regional office located in Biscomaun building in Patna demanding immediate recall of the book while also demanding the resignation of Union Human Resources Minister Arjun Singh.
The protest sponsored under the banner of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), mad at the derogatory reference to Indian Gods burnt the effigy of Singh and vandalized the IGNOU office while also demanding public apologies from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“The Communists historians, in collusion with the Hindu-hating UPA government, have purposely distorted the facts for their own so-called secular agenda. This will not be tolerated and until the contents of the book is changed and a public apology is tendered, we will continue to go on with the protest,” ABVP state president Satyendra Narain Kushwaha said.
Protestors took down the IGNOU sign and colored it with black paints while destroying some tables and chairs.
As reported, there had been several derogatory references to Hindu Gods including Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, and Lord Krishna in the text book.
IGNOU Vice Chancellor Professor S. C. Garg, apologizing on behalf of the liberal university, said the mistakes were made during the translation of the book from English to Hindi. “I am myself a Hindu and I don’t want these monumental errors in the text books but I can assure you the mistakes were unintentional and have already been ordered to rectify,” Garg said.
Similar explanations were given by Union Human Resources and Development Minister Arjun Singh who said the books have been ordered to be pulled from the shelves and proper amendment has been ordered to set the records straight.
20th July, 2006 : ( Source : http://www.patnadaily.com )