CHENNAI: Stating that the court is not an expert in the history or origin of the races, the Madras High Court directed authorities concerned in the union and state governments to consider a petition filed to restrain the education department from propagating the two-race (Aryan and Dravidian) theory.
The first bench of Chief Justice KR Shriram and Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed the NCERT and SCERT directors to treat the petition as a representation; consider it and dispose within twelve weeks after giving reasonable opportunity to the petitioner by way of a personal hearing.
“The relief requested for by the petitioner cannot be granted by this court without examining and deciding whether the two-race theory, which the petitioner claims to be false, is valid or invalid. It is appropriate that this determination be made by experts in the field...,” the bench said in the order.
Relying upon writings of various scholars, the petitioner, Mahalingam Balaji, contended that the two-race is “false” and would cause substantial harm to the impressionable minds.
Additional Advocate General J Ravindran, appearing for the Secretary of School Education, submitted that a committee has been established to devise the syllabus based on inputs received from the experts, and the issue would be looked into if a representation is submitted. Deputy Solicitor General Rajesh Vivekananthan, representing the Union government, also made a similar submission.