Changes in NCERT texts attempt to distort, communalise study of history, polity, society: CPI MP
New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) CPI MP Binoy Viswam has alleged that the changes made to NCERT textbooks indicate a clear-cut attempt at "distorting and communalising the study of the history, polity and society of India".
In a letter to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the CPI leader said that "omissions" are very serious and some of the changes "reek of an attempt" to omit information about certain periods in Indian history and certain traditions of Indian thought.
He alleged that most of these changes were brought in social sciences books, indicating that the government is "trying to curtail critical analysis of our society, polity and history".
The NCERT has dropped from its class 12 history textbook certain portions on Mahatma Gandhi and how his pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity "provoked Hindu extremists", and on a ban on the RSS, triggering a row, with the Congress accusing the Centre of "whitewashing" and "distorting" history.
"Gandhiji's death had a magical effect on communal situation in the country", "Gandhi's pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity provoked Hindu extremists" and "Organisations like RSS were banned for some time" are among the portions deleted from the textbook.
The portions referring to the Gujarat riots have also been dropped from the class 11 sociology textbook, months after NCERT removed the reference to the 2022 communal violence in two class 12 textbooks.
"All of these changes, taken in totality, indicate a clear-cut attempt at distorting and communalising the study of the history, polity and society of India.
"That this was done by a panel of experts is indicative of how deep ideological bias has entered into our system. These omissions are precluding critical inquiry, defeating the purpose of democratization of knowledge and aim at homogenization," Viswam said.
The CPI MP further alleged that the removal of passages linking Mahatma Gandhi's
assassination with the RSS appears to dilute Nathuram Godse's ideological leanings.
"Other changes that were made as part of the 'rationalization' exercise are also in nature of either concealing the true history of the country or attempting to distort it. All references to the Gujarat riots of 2002, including former PM A B Vajpayee's message to then CM Narendra Modi on following a policy of non-discrimination, have been removed," he alleged.
In his letter, he also said that the removal and reduction of content pertaining to the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire and the works of literature and architecture of that period "prima facie appears to be communally biased." References to social movements are also omitted to a great extent, Viswam claimed.
"Our young minds deserve the truth and offering them half-truths, omissions and biases is a grave injustice which is sure to imperil our future. Thus, I urge you to take account of the changes made and take necessary action to rectify the biases from NCERT textbooks to preserve the spirit of critical inquiry and scientific temper in future generations," he said.
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Media dinner shooting suspect wrote about targeting of administration officials, Trump says
Washington (AP): The man accused of trying to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives had written about targeting Trump administration officials, and his family raised concerns with law enforcement before the event, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.
The accused gunman's family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said, revealing new details about a chaotic encounter that disrupted one of Washington's glitziest annual events the night before.
The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was expected to face criminal charges on Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting leader, Todd Blanche, said the suspect travelled by train from California and checked in as a guest days earlier at the Washington hotel where the Saturday night gala dinner was held with its typically tight security.
Law enforcement officials who have interviewed Allen's relatives, examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.
He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the two firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Authorities believe the suspect fired the shot that hit the Secret Service officer, who is expected to make a full recovery, Blanche said.
“He's going to be great, he's going to be fine, and thank God he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” Blanche said Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump.
The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.
“It's always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” Trump told reporters in a hastily organised news conference at the White House late Saturday.
