NEW DELHI: An internal enquiry by the Army into map-exercise books at a Srinagar Army school depicting Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as "Azad Kashmir", has revealed that the faux pas was committed due to inadvertent topographical errors and faulty proof-reading.
All the Army schools and their principals have been intimated to withdraw these books and the publisher has been asked to supply the new course material, sources said.
The mistake was noticed recently in the map-exercise book prescribed for the students of standard three.
The inadvertent topographical error was committed due to proof reading mistake and the new maps are in the process of being supplied by the publisher to all the schools, they added.
"As soon as the discrepancy was noticed, the Army Welfare Education Society (AEWS) withdrew the books," the sources said.
Distancing itself from the controversy, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had said that the exercise book in question was brought out by a private publisher and was not of the NCERT.
When asked to comment on the faux pas, CBSE Chairman Vineet Joshi had said the Board had "Nothing to do with it".
"We prescribe only NCERT textbooks for class one to eight students. This book which is being talked about is of a private publisher," he had said.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the issue, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government should look into the controversy and take immediate measures to ensure that it is not repeated.
"If it was a deliberate act, then it is a very dangerous thing as Jammu and Kashmir is a sensitive area. Even if it is mistake, the Centre should look into the controversy...the Government of India should take immediate steps to prevent a repeat of such incident," he said.