A PIECE in this diary, “Hate content in Punjab, Sindh school curricula” published on September 3 (Monday) drew strong reaction from world over and readers have shared their views on the issue, many of them expressing grave concern over the situation.
Many readers chided the respective provincial governments (of Punjab and Sindh) for allowing hate material against religious minorities, mainly Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, besides Englishmen and India, in the textbooks. They warned that such indoctrination was poisoning the young minds, promoting hate, prejudices, extremism and religious intolerance in society.
They urged interfaith harmony and peace among the nations so that civilisation could make progress. On Dawn’s website a reader, Mr Abdul Haleem, termed the situation alarming and asked, “Are we still living in the Stone Age?”, and deplored that when the world had become global village, the seeds of hatred were still being sown here.
Mr JP Singh commented: “Well nothing of this kind is going to hurt India. It is going to hurt Pakistan itself and it is happening in Pakistan for everyone to see. It’s a wake up call for Pakistan”. Similarly, another reader, Ms Nazli Siddiqui, stated, “This hatred (being) poured into young minds is coming back to haunt Pakistan”. Mr Ali stated that in schools, curriculum should focus on building students’ capability in mathematics, science, etc, besides reading and writing various languages, instead of controversial content. He said the schools should focus on honing leadership skills through sports like cricket, hockey and soccer. He stressed the schools should encourage students to solve puzzles, play games and read stories because such activities inculcate creative thinking and build imagination. “Entire life is all about reading and writing, not just books,” he added.
Mr Ali said students should be taught the Holy Quran and given examples from the life of the Holy Prophet in stead of controversial versions of history. “With this kind of training, students will learn to value life, lead a positive life, lead the world by their example and not with empty words,” he asserted.
Some of the readers demanded the article should have also carried excerpts from the textbooks mentioning the parts containing “hate material”.
To satisfy such readers, a few examples are being quoted from Punjab Textbook Board (PTB) books that contain total 122 such lines.
The PTB’s Class-V Social Studies textbook’s chapter on Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (on Page 83, Line-16) states: “The Hindus can never become the Muslims’ true friends”. The same book’s chapter ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’ (Page-2, line 13) says: “Hindu religion has divided human beings in superior and inferior grades through caste and creed system. Woman is considered inferior in Hindu religion.” On Page-3, lines 7-8 say, “But the Hindus did not recognise entity of Pakistan from the core of their heart.” Similarly, PTB’s Class-V Islamiyat textbook lesson Eidain (Eids) (Page 12, lines 2-3 as well as Sindh Textbook Board’s (STB) Class-II Urdu textbook chapter on Quaid-e-Azam, (Page 16; line – 14) say: “Usually other nations remain busy in frivolous activities during their festive occasions. They don’t have any concept of humility and relationship with God”.
The PTB’s Class-X textbook Bahar-i-Urdu’s chapter on Nazria-i-Pakistan (Pakistan Ideology) (Page-10, lines – 2-3) as well as STB’s Urdu textbook, Pakistan Ideology chapter (Page-44, lines 17-18) say: “The Hindus detested the decision of establishing Pakistan. They tried their utmost that this state should never come into being.”
Similarly, the PTB’s Class-VIII Social Studies textbook chapter ‘Political Consciousness Among South Asian Muslims’ (Page 80, lines – 22-23) states: “Hindu goondas, at the behest of the government, started massacring the Muslims and torching their properties”.
In PTB’s Class-IX Pakistan Studies textbook lesson on History of Pakistan (Part-I) (Page 95, lines – 9-10) says: “India wanted to keep Pakistan weak, so that it may be compelled to become part of India”. Same textbook’s lesson ‘Creation of Pakistan’ (Page 20, lines – 18-19) says: “The Muslims wanted to save themselves from Hindumut superiority. Hindumut was constantly attempting to absorb Islam in it like what it did to other systems.”
With regard to the Christians and the Englishmen, the PTB’s Class-VII Social Studies textbook chapter ‘Islamic Society’ (Page 13, lines – 3-4) says: “Because fanatic clergymen had started telling Christian rulers that going into war with the Muslims was inevitable to protect the Cross.”
PTB’s Class-X Pakistan Studies textbook lesson ‘Creation of Pakistan’ (Pages 11-12, lines – 1 and 25) state: “The Muslims as a nation became the target of Englishmen’s hate and vindictive actions.”
The STB’s Class-VI Urdu textbook lesson ‘Great Brother’s Great Sister’ (Page 22, line–4) says: “Prejudiced Hindus started committing atrocities against the Muslims soon after the creation of Pakistan”.
Similarly, STB’s Class-VIII Social Studies lesson ‘Pakistan’s Ideology’ (Page 100, line – 11) says: “Englishmen and Sikh policemen dishonoured women and killed innocent children”. Line 19 in the same chapter says: “But the Hindus habitually deceived the Muslims at every occasion”.
The STB’s Class-IX-X Pakistan Studies textbook lesson ‘Creation of Pakistan’ (Page 32, line – 12) states: “Though Balochistan was the biggest province in terms of area, Englishmen always tried to keep it backward”.
Talking to Dawn, professor of sociology Dr Muhammad Zakria Zakar said all the text material sifted from Punjab and Sindh textbooks reflected the mindset that “We (the Muslims) are superior and all others are morally inferior people. And we want to maintain this identity.”
Prof Zakar, who is also director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, Punjab University, said through such material the textbooks writers in Pakistan were spreading ‘systematic cultural blindness’ among children and the youth. Consequently, he said, these children and youth could not analyse things objectively and rationally. “It kills critical thinking and makes them recruits of certain groups,” he added. A content analysis report on textbooks produced by PTB and STB – “Education or Fanning Hate” – compiled by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) stated the hate content had increased manifold over the years and many earlier textbooks that had no hate material now carried it both in Punjab and Sindh textbooks. — mansoormalik173@hotmail.com