CBSE Class 6 History book criticised for 'CASTEIST' content, VCK Leader asks SC, ST Not Part of Hinduism?

Image Source: Twitter

CBSE: Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE has once again made its way into the headlines. This time, a Class 6 History textbook has gone viral on social media for allegedly having ‘casteist’ content. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) alliance party Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol. Thirumavalavan presented a chart that represented Varna System from the grade 6 CBSE textbook, in answer to questions about the whereabouts of Manu Dharma. The viral text has received heavy backlash from netizens. Political parties such as Makkal Needhi Maiam and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi from Tamil Nadu have also called out the Central Board for the content.

பள்ளிப் பிள்ளைகளுக்கு #வர்ணாஸ்ரம சமூக அடுக்குகளைக் கற்றுத் தருகிறது ஃபாசிச பாஜகஅரசு. இப்போது எங்கே உள்ளது #மனுதருமம் அல்லது வர்ணாஸ்ரம தருமம் என்று கேள்வி எழுப்புவோரின் கவனத்திற்காக. இந்துக்களில் நான்கு வகை மட்டுமே.

எஸ்சி, எஸ்டி சமூகப் பிரிவினர் இந்நான்கு வகைகளைச் சாராதவர்கள். pic.twitter.com/LW5gP0MyyT

— Thol. Thirumavalavan (@thirumaofficial) September 24, 2022

In a tweet, the VCK leader Thirumavalavan wrote, “I brought it up to draw the attention of individuals who might be wondering where Manu Dharma or Varnashrama Dharma are", he quoted. Moreover, he mentioned that the BJP government is teaching Varnashrama Dharma to school children and that it is illustrated in the CBSE class 6 textbook.

However, a major twist comes in. The history textbook which has gone viral has not been published by CBSE. After the MCM and VCK called out the board over the content, CBSE issued a clarification regarding this viral matter.

CBSE clarified on Twitter, the Central Board stated that the text has been “wrongfully attributed” to CBSE. Readers must note that CBSE, as a board of education, does not publish any textbooks for schools across the country.

The class 6 History textbook containing topics on Varnas has been wrongly attributed as published by CBSE. This is factually incorrect .
It is clarified that CBSE does not publish History textbooks, thus the matter does not relate to CBSE.

Team CBSE — CBSE HQ (@cbseindia29) September 27, 2022

The Publisher of the Text

As mentioned above, CBSE is not a publisher and what content is included in them. As a board, they hold the primary responsibility of examination guidelines, affiliation guidelines, etc. According to media reports the image of the viral text and the book has been published by XSEED Education, a private publishing house based out of Singapore.

CBSE on various occasions has asked schools, government and private to follow the curriculum formulated by NCERT and use the books published by the National Council for Educational Research and Training.