Demand to revamp the curriculum and content of the present Gujarat state board textbooks for social studies

(Copies of this petition will be sent to the following persons - Minister, Secretary & Director of Education & Textbooks Depts in Gujarat state; CM & Governor of Gujarat; PM & Education related depts in the center.)

Dear sir/madam,

Subject: A demand to revamp the curriculum and content of the present Gujarat state board textbooks for social studies.

We are concerned Non-resident Indians who have been doing a systematic review of Gujarat state board text books for social studies. We have completed a detailed review of 5th and 6th standard books and the content is of great concern to us. The objective of this letter is to bring to your attention the highly objectionable content of these text books. A summary of our findings is listed below. Detailed description of our findings and our suggestions are included for 5th Standard and 6th Standard.

Flagrant and Widespread mix-up of recorded history and mythological stories
Explicit promotion of stereotypes and biases promoting misunderstanding among children
Shocking omissions of important historical eras and events
Pedantic presentation style making history a moral science lesson
Excessive glorification of wars
Almost complete absence of maps and dates
Utterly confusing and disorganized presentation hinders understanding
Glaring factual inaccuracies
Too much emphasis on irrelevant personal details overshadowing historical events
Presence of spelling and grammatical errors and incorrect use of English words in literally every chapter

We strongly believe that these severe problems call for extensive changes in the text books, both in the material itself and in the presentation of the material. The points mentioned above need to be addressed at the minimum. The text books must accomplish the following:

Present a comprehensive view of history in a clear and coherent manner
Encourage analytical thinking by giving multiple viewpoints instead of imposing a single opinion. Promoting critical examination of historical events
Remove stereotypes, biases and factual inaccuracies
Present a background for pressing social and economic problems in India
Promote an understanding of the states natural resources and the individuals role in conserving and managing them.

We think that the present curriculum will have a really unhealthy impact on the children unless something is urgently done to improve the quality of the text books. A committee of academicians and historians needs to be immediately set up to review the text books and come up with an improved curriculum keeping in mind the strong objections we have raised and the suggestions we have made.