Ex-bureaucrats condemn Pragya's remarks on Karkare; demand withdrawal of candidature
New Delhi: A group of 71 retired civil servants have taken strong objection to BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Singh Thakur's statement that her "curse" killed decorated IPS officer Hemant Karkare, and demanded withdrawal of her candidature.
In an open letter, the former officers said that Thakur, who is an accused in the Malegaon blast case and is out on bail on medical grounds, has used the political platform not just to propound her "brand of bigotry", but also to "insult" the memory of Karkare, who died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.
Last week, Thakur said she cursed Karkare, the former Anti-Terrorist Squad chief of Maharashtra, for treating her "very badly" while she was in custody in connection with the 2008 blast case, that killed six and injured over a 100.
Her statement evoked condemnation from several quarters and the BJP too distanced itself from the comments.
"...this dishonouring of a former colleague, an officer known for his professionalism, has come as the ultimate shock and saddened us beyond words. The country needs to honour the sacrifice of Karkare and not allow deviant individuals to denigrate him and his memory.
"Every officer who has worked with or supervised the work of Karkare has testified that he was a person of impeccable integrity and an inspiration to all who came in touch with him," said the letter.
The letter has been signed by ex-civil servants including former Punjab Director General of Police Julio Riberio, ex-Pune Police Commissioner Meeran Borwankar and former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar.
The officers also said, "This decision could have been dismissed as yet another example of political expediency but for the enthusiastic endorsement by no less a person than the Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi), who has termed her candidature as a symbol of our civilisational heritage," the letter said.
They listed demands like, "condemning unequivocally, the statement of Pragya Thakur, demanding that the BJP withdraw her candidature and reminding the Prime Minister...to take the lead in putting an end to the climate of fear and intimidation and communal viciousness that seems to be percolating into the entire electoral process".
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CBSE plan for 2026-27: Three-language formula from Class 6; two levels of maths, science for Class 9
New Delhi (PTI): The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rolled out its new curriculum, launching a phased implementation of the three-language formula from Class 6 and a two-level system of mathematics and science for Class 9 starting in the 2026-27 academic session, officials said on Friday.
While the three-language formula mandated under the new National Education Policy (NEP) will be implemented from 2026 for Class 6, introduction of the two-level system of mandatory standard and optional advanced courses in mathematics and science will be done for Class 9.
"Languages are organised through a structured three-language framework across stages: R1, R2 and R3. As per recommendations of new National Curriculum Framework (NCF), two of these three languages must be native to India. In continuation of the board's phased implementation of multilingual education, a third language will be made mandatory from Class 6 with effect from the academic session 2026-27, ensuring that every learner studies at least two Indian languages," a senior board official said.
"While it is desirable that the same scheme of languages is adopted, under exceptional circumstances for students returning from foreign schools where the third language studied till Class 8 or 9 is not available in domestic schools, such students may be exempted as per approved norms. However, such students will be required to study the total number of subjects as stipulated in the scheme of studies," the official added.
Mathematics and science will see a major structural shift with the introduction of a two-level system starting in the 2026–27 academic session.
"All students will study the standard curriculum and appear for a common 80-mark examination of three hours; those opting for higher proficiency can choose an additional 'advanced' level in either or both subjects. This advanced component will consist of a separate 25-mark, one-hour paper designed to test higher-order thinking skills and deeper conceptual understanding.
"Students must mandatorily take the standard exam, while the advanced paper remains optional. Importantly, performance in the advanced paper will not be added to the overall aggregate; instead, students scoring 50 per cent or above will have the advanced-level qualification reflected separately in their mark sheet," the official said.
The two-level system (standard and advanced) in mathematics and science will begin in the 2026–27 academic session for Class 9 students, and the first board exams for Class 10 students with this structure will be held in 2028 for that cohort.
