M A I N   N E W S

Books Maluka bought for Punjab’s schoolkids
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
At an age when children should be reading stories about princes and princesses, Punjab Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka “gifted” them literature suggesting how to court their sisters-in-law or to mock at Parkash Singh Badal and Rajiv Gandhi for their alleged weakness in addressing Sikh issues.

Instead of a typical fairy tale about a prince riding his horse or a witch trapping an innocent girl, our minister expected primary school students to cherish “Rann naha ke chhapar chhon nikkli sulfe di laat vargi” (the maiden came out sizzling like fire of marijuana after a bath in the village pond).

Former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, SP Singh said, “Many words sounding offensive are often part of normal literature. However, we need to understand that the literature for primary school students was very different and needed a special committee for judging it before granting clearance for inclusion in the syllabus.”

It is difficult to justify primary school students reading and singing “Tere luck nu jarab naa aave nikka ghada chakk lacchiyae” (carry a small pitcher lest you should sprain your back, you pretty damsel).

While the minister is washing his hands off the goof-up, there is no denying the fact that the original committee comprised his hand-picked members.

In another book “Laung Tveeterian” (traditional accessories for nose and neck), a damsel cries “dinne vi ladda raatin vi ladda, gaalaan kadhda chaali, ve kaid kara dangi main deputy di saali (you fight during the day as well as during the night, you curse me a lot. Watch out, I’ll get you arrested by my brother-in-law who is in police).

President of the Punjabi Sahitya Akademy Gurbhajan Gill said, “Our Ludhiana unit has constituted a committee to study all Punjabi textbooks circulated in schools. A detailed report will be compiled soon. We need to understand that while dealing with literature for primary school students, we need to involve a child psychologist. Names, characters and images, all, have a distinct role and these

books should never be approved without expert opinion. Punjabi literature has a number of literary creations capturing the world of children, these should be picked up for the young readers.” The advertisement inviting tenders for the books appeared in non-significant papers, hinting that the entire exercise was designed to benefit “Friends Publishers” only.

It is also very difficult to explain the relevance of a book like “Bacche di sambhal atte sikhya” (taking care of children and their education).

Paramjit Singh, a history teacher, said, “Can anyone explain how a controversial book like “Kanwal kehnda riha” found its name on the list of library books? The author did not spare even Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. In a letter, he writes “Rajiv naal, Ray te Ribeiro nu assin maaf nahin karrange” (besides Rajiv, we won’t forgive former Governor Siddhartha Shankar Ray and former DGP Julio Ribeiro). He cites examples to argue: “Ki eh saanu naal rakkhan diyan neetian hunn” (are these steps by the government any indication that they want us stay united with the nation).

Another book “Sucche Moti’(unblemished pearls) provokes children “Ikk chhara kehnda tainu haar karaa devan, dooja chhara kehnda tere gal paa devan”(a bachelor asks for company of a maiden promising her a necklace, while another says he’ll garland her). One wonders what these lines had to do for a primary school student.

state of Primary education: food for thought

Courting controversy

• In February, Maluka formed a 3-member panel to purchase a set of 55 books for libraries in each school. This was to be purchased from Sardoolgarh (Mansa)-based supplier
• Each set of books for primary schools cost Rs 3,000 and Rs 10,000 for upper primary schools. Budget: Rs 7.24 crore
• The Principal Secy and Director General School Education were not taken into confidence
• The panel called for tenders through ads in vernacular newspapers
• Maluka then formed a sub-panel to go through the tendering process and assess books’ suitability
• This panel examined the sample books and chose the Sardoolgarh firm, which actually dealt in property matters and timber
• The library books have already been distributed in Mohali, Ropar and parts of Hoshiarpur

Badal orders probe

CM Parkash Singh Badal on Monday ordered an inquiry into the “irregularities” in the procurement of books by the state Education Department to be conducted by retired high court judge AN Jindal. No time frame fixed. — TNS

DPI, TWO officials suspended

• The state government has suspended DPI (Elementary) Prithpal Kaur, Mohali District Education Officer Vinod Kumar Sharma and Finance and Development Officer of Punjab School Education Board Gurtej Singh
• The officers were members of the purchase committee set up by Maluka that cleared the set of objectionable books