In a shocking incident, an examination paper for class 12th political science students in Manipur asked them to draw Bhartiya Janta Party’s election symbol and also list down four ‘negative traits of Nehru’s approach’ to nation-building. The examination was conducted by Manipur’s Council of Higher Secondary Education and the question paper mentioned the two questions that carried four marks each, The Times Of India reported.
Pictures of the exam paper went viral on social media, triggering mixed reactions.
‘This is the question paper of the ongoing council of higher secondary education examination 2020(COHSEM). You can get in touch with anyone who appeared for the said exam,’ Sorokhaibam told indianexpress.com. ‘And, yes my sister appeared (for) it and she sent me the question paper,’ he added.
This is set of question of on-going higher secondary examination Manipur. pic.twitter.com/h7PKYuDl7d
â Akee Sorokhaibam (@ahaiyoh) February 22, 2020
The image was shared by many people, including activist Angellica Aribam, who called it an attempt to create hatred for Nehru into a generation of youngsters.
This is how they indoctrinate their hatred for Nehru into a generation of youngsters. Bravo! https://t.co/kmzHjz2D5V
â Angellica Aribam (@AngellicAribam) February 23, 2020
Some netizens also felt that there was ‘nothing wrong’ in asking students to list down positives or negatives of any political figure.
I think nothing wrong with it. Baat honi chahiye POSITIVE or NEGATIVE dono trf ki. Kisi ko BHAGWAN bnana sahi nhi fir chahe GANDHI ho ya SAVRKAR. hr kisi k bare m khul k baaat honi chahiye POSITIEV and NEGATIVE side PE baat honi chahiye hr kisi ki.
â shubham rawat (@shubham19650003) February 23, 2020
Read the whole thing at least, it concerns Nehru’s approach towards nation building not Nehru himself. And even if it did, Nehru is not beyond criticism.
â दà¥à¤à¥à¤·à¤¾ à¿ (@deekshadelhi) February 24, 2020
While the state BJP General Secretary, N Nimbus Singh called the questions ‘relevant’, Congress spokesperson Kh Joykishan lashed out at the BJP saying that the ‘questions were part of an attempt to instil a certain mindset among students’.
In a bid to dismiss the controversy, the state’s education council chairman L Mahendra Singh claimed that none of the questions was out of syllabus.
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