Row over Anandpur Sahib Resolution in NCERT books: SAD to take up issue with Union Minister

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Chandigarh, April 10

Condemning the interpretation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a separatist agenda in new NCERT textbooks, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today alleged that this had been done as part of a conspiracy to defame the Sikh community.

The party claimed that the resolution stood for unity and integrity of the country and sought to promote federalism within the constitutional framework.

Addressing a press conference, senior SAD leaders Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema demanded that the wrong interpretation be withdrawn immediately from the books. According to them, a delegation of senior SAD leaders will meet the Union Education Minister and apprise him about key facts, which had been twisted with regard to the resolution and demand that they be corrected by instituting a committee of historians from Punjab.

Giving details, Prof Chandumajra said it was unfortunate that a deliberate attempt was being made to spoil the image of the Sikh community. He said the country had accepted the resolution and the Sarkaria Commission was instituted to review centre-state relations. “All regional parties also hailed the document, which reflected the regional aspirations of the people of the country,” he said.

Dr Daljit Cheema said the NCERT’s chapter on the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of the country also does not depict the issue in the right perspective. He said even though the Nanavati Commission gave the name of the political party as well as Congress leaders responsible for the mass murder of Sikhs, the NCERT had chosen to remain ambiguous on this.

Deliberate attempt

It is unfortunate that a deliberate attempt is being made to spoil the image of the Sikh community. — Prem Singh Chandumajra, SAD leader