‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’ terms missing in Preamble in new Telangana textbooks
Hyderabad, Jun 23: The Telangana State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has got mired in a controversy following the publication of the Preamble of the Constitution on the cover page of a school textbook allegedly without the words 'socialist' and 'secular'.
The SCERT, however, maintained that the error occurred due to oversight.
The Telangana State United Teachers' Federation (TSUTF) submitted a representation to the secretary of education department on Thursday complaining that the words 'socialist' and 'secular' were "removed" from the Preamble published on the cover page of the class 10 social studies textbook published by the SCERT.
The two words were included in the Preamble through the 42nd Constitutional amendment, the TSUTF recalled.
However, the Preamble, including the two words, was published in the pages inside class 8 and 10 social studies books, it said.
At a time when there is a debate "across the globe" that secularism was in danger in India, the publication of the old Preamble "the way some people want it" instead of the one that is in force gives rise to several doubts, the Federation claimed.
It said that the error was a major one and that either it happened intentionally or due to oversight.
The Federation urged that the correct Preamble be published and sought tough action against those responsible for wrongly publishing the Preamble, after conducting an inquiry.
Meanwhile, the SCERT said the error was inadvertent.
"This happened by oversight and unintentionally while downloading the image at the time of designing the cover," the SCERT Director said.
However, in the inner pages of other textbooks, the Preamble after amendment was printed.
"The error crept in inadvertently," the Director said.
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Rocket from Yemen strikes Tel Aviv, injuring 16, as Palestinians mourn 19 dead in Gaza
Tel Aviv, Dec 21: A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.
A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 am Saturday, the military said.
The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.
The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won't stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides' attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine UN mediation efforts.
