PSEB starts probe into Rajguru picture in chapter on Sukhdev

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 10

To cover up the blunder of not recognising our national heroes, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has initiated an inquiry to identify the real faces of martyrs Sukhdev and Rajguru.

The board has been facing criticism after printing a picture of Rajguru in a chapter on Sukhdev in Punjabi textbook for Class IV. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged at Lahore on March 23, 1931.

Honorary adviser to the Bhagat Singh Archives and Resource Centre, New Delhi, Prof Chaman Lal said the picture used in the chapter was “totally wrong. The act of not recognising our national heroes is in fact shameful.”

Chairman of the PSEB Manohar Kant Kalohia has deputed a special team to give a factual report on the issue at the earliest. Besides questioning the board officials involved in production of the chapter, the team members have been asked to approach different subject experts from universities and other history research organisations.

He said, “The initial reports that we received from office mentioned that the same picture had been used by our board and also by the state government on many occasions earlier. The same picture was found to have been used on many websites. At the same time, we respect the public reaction to the image under question. We do not, completely, rule out a possible error. We will enquire the matter and make an official statement soon.”

Prof Chaman Lal said, “If the mistake of using the same picture had been committed several times earlier, this showed how poor the academic and research teams of the board were. Isn’t it a matter of shame that we do not recognise our national heroes?”

A senior officer of the board said, “I think if the title of the chapter was ‘Bal Sukhdev’ then it should have carried a picture of the martyr as a child.”