Imphal, Feb. 13: Volunteers of the Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur (Desam) today burnt textbooks published by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur, for Classes I to V in protest against the ?flaws? in them. Desam has been demanding rectification of the ?mistakes and misleading lessons? in the textbooks written by local experts and published by the board for this year?s academic session.
When their demand for publication of fresh books was not fulfilled, they collected books from different sources and burnt them in front of Imphal College here this afternoon.
A student leader said the lessons on Manipur history were full of mistakes and projected the state?s history wrongly. For example, lessons on Khongjom war, Kuki rebellion, the struggle of Rani Gaidinliu, Communist leader Hijam Irabat and Nupi Lal (women?s war) were not written correctly, he said. According to him, the textbooks also project Manipuri women in a very poor light and distort Manipuri culture.
Yesterday, the All Tribal Students? Union, Manipur, had also rejected the textbooks, saying that lessons from the books would not be taught in hill schools this academic session.
The union said the government?s announcement on introduction of new textbooks had come too late as most of the schools in the five hill districts have already started classes. It added that it would examine the textbooks before they were accepted for teaching in the hills.
BJP-INPT alliance: The BJP's decision to enter into an alliance with the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura, poll ally of the Opposition Congress in the last Assembly elections, for parliamentary polls has flustered the party's state unit, reports PTI.
Tripura BJP president Ranajoy Deb told reporters in Agartala today that they could not accept the party?s decision wholeheartedly.