Mumbai, April 26: This year's newly-published SSC textbooks in Maharashtra have depicted a large portion of the border state Jammu and Kashmir out of the country, besides carrying a faulty picture of the national tricolour, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said here on Thursday.
In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he demanded a probe and immediate arrest of those found guilty of this grave faux pas in the Class 10 Geography textbook.
Vikhe-Patil pointed out that these serious errors have come up in the textbooks recently published by the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production & Curriculum Research for the academic year starting 2018.
"In chapter 3, page 24, a map of India is published but it is very erroneous as a large part of Jammu & Kashmir is not shown within the borders of the country," he said in the letter.
Similarly, in chapter 2, page 9, the national flag has been published in which the colour of the Ashoka Chakra is wrong.
He said the textbook had been kept for review in a seminar in Pune sometime ago when former school Principal K.U. Sonawane and others raised serious objections, both oral and written, to make the necessary corrections.
"However, the required changes were not made and the textbooks carry the wrong images of India and the national tricolour, besides many other mistakes which have crept into the book," Vikhe-Patil said.
Seeking complaints against the persons concerned and their immediate arrest, he demanded that after consulting experts, all the mistakes must be corrected and a revised version should be made available for the students from the next academic year.
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Stranded tourists find shelter in mosque amid heavy snowfall in Kashmir
Srinagar(PTI): In a heartwarming display of Kashmiri hospitality, locals in Gund, on the Srinagar-Sonamarg highway, opened the doors of a mosque to shelter a group of travellers stranded due to heavy snowfall.
A dozen tourists from Punjab found themselves caught in the snowfall on Friday while returning from the Sonamarg area, officials said
Their vehicles became stuck in the snow and with no nearby hotels and local houses too small to accommodate the group, Gund residents opened the doors of the Jamia Masjid, allowing the tourists to stay there for the night, officials added.
"It was the best possible solution as the mosque has a hamaam, which stays warm throughout the night," said Bashir Ahmad, a local resident.
The Jamia Masjid at Gund is located less than 10 kilometers from the site of a terrorist attack in Gagangir, where six people -- five non-local labourers and a local doctor -- were killed in October this year.
A video of the tourists spending the night inside the mosque has since gone viral.
The tourists expressed their gratitude to the locals for their help. "We were stuck in the snow, and you came to our rescue. We are extremely thankful to all of you," one of them said.
Another tourist added, "Everyone should visit Kashmir to experience its hospitality. Everyone here is kind and it is safe to visit. Please come to this paradise on earth."
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq praised the gesture and said it was heartening to see Kashmiris open their mosques and homes to stranded tourists amidst heavy snowfall.
"This gesture of warmth and humanity reflects our longstanding tradition of hospitality and helping others in times of need," he said on X.
Elsewhere, heavy snowfall also left many tourists stranded along the Srinagar-Jammu highway and at tourist destinations like Doodhpathri.
However, not all the stranded tourists were complaining. "The car ignition isn’t working due to the cold, and we have to push it. But it's fine; we're enjoying it," said a tourist from Haryana as he waited for clearance at Qazigund to head home.
Police and civil administration have begun reaching out to stranded tourists, providing hot drinks and other necessities to keep them warm.
