An alphabet book says “B” is for bomb and “C” is for chaku (knife) and another has pictures of an inverted national flag. The books were not lifted from al Qaeda training camps, but the schools of Uttar Pradesh. The parents are not amused, especially since the first book is part of the curriculum of private nursery schools. Aalok Shabd, which teaches Hindi alphabets, has been published by Prism House Publication, but they were not available for comment.
“This is unacceptable, such things should not be taught to three-year-olds,” said a parent, Savita Kumar.
Most school boards rule out the inclusion of words that “patronise and promote hatred, violence and negative mindset” in books.
CBSE city coordinator Javed Alam said such negative use of words will not be tolerated. The state’s joint director of education, Vikas Srivastava, told HT: “Notice will be served to schools using the book.”
The second volume is a moral education book for children of Class 8 titled New Way Bloom. Here, an Indian flag with the colour sequence upside down appears in at least five places.
The book, used as part of the NCERT syllabus, was published by Gurukul Publications, New Delhi. The publishers said the book was being withdrawn with immediate effect.
“This is indeed a blunder,” said Ankur Julka, a staff member of Gurukul Publications.