A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court seeking a directive to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to take steps to withdraw the objectionable statement about Sree Narayana Guru in the history textbook for standard VIII CBSE students.
The petition was filed by advocate Jaju Babu, a member of Kochi Sree Narayana Club. He submitted that the textbook published by the NCERT, contains an incorrect and irresponsible statement about Sree Narayana Guru.
“In the reference made in the book under the title ‘Demands for equality and justice’ with the photograph of Sree Narayana Guru, it is stated that, “a Guru from the low caste Ezhava, Sree Narayana Guru, proclaimed the ideals of unity of all people within one sect, a single caste and one guru.
The section distorts the entire nobility of his personality,” the petitioner said. “It was shocking to note that Sree Narayana Guru who gave the message ‘one caste, one religion and one God for man kind’ is depicted as a person who proclaimed the ideals of unity of people within a sect,” the petitioner said.
He pointed out that he had made a specific request to take steps to withdraw the erroneous statements in the textbook, but the authorities did not take any action.