Marxism to be erased from textbooks?
KOLKATA: For years, children in West Bengal received lessons on Marxism and the ‘Rise of the Proletariat’. But Didi’s ‘paribartan’ has perhaps necessitated its scrapping from school history syllabus. The recommendations made by the state school education syllabus panel will be submitted to the Mamata Banerjee government next week.
“It is a complete misconception that we are doing away with Marxist movements or communism from history. In our recommendations, we have only suggested to include democratic movements, invasions by various explorers and the 20th century history. While elaborating on the theme, we have brought in Latin America, China as well as various movements in India. Also, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been included keeping in mind their significance in the post 1947 era,” said panel head Avik Majumdar.
Lenin and the Marxist struggle would find mention in the revamped syllabus along with the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. While Majumdar insisted that the move was meant to prevent indoctrination, critics felt that after banning certain newspapers from public libraries, this was yet another instance of ‘Didigiri’.
“Mamata must be clear about what she is doing. We are in a democracy and our children should learn everything, including Marxism,” CPI national secretary D Raja said.