Faiz's poems excluded from CBSE syllabus: Report

Even as communal clashes and 'bulldozing' in the aftermath of festivities become a daily news affair, a new cyllabus by the central education board look likely to stoke a major controversy.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to do away with two poems by renowned Urdu poet and writer Faiz Ahmed Faiz in its textbooks for Class 10 students.

The poems, translated from Urdu to English, were part of the 'Religion, Communalism and Politics — Communalism, Secular State' section of the NCERT's [National Council of Educational Research and Training] Class 10 textbook. However, these were left out of the CBSE's 2022-23 2022-23 academic curriculum, released Thursday, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The images of two posters and a political cartoon have been done away with from the Social Science course content.

DH could not independently verify the report.

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The three images comprised two illustrated with Faiz's verses issued by NGO ANHAD [Act Now for Harmony and Democracy] and the Voluntary Health Association of India. The third image was of a cartoon by Ajith Ninan, which shows an empty chair adorned with religious symbols with the caption “This chair is for the CM-designate to prove his secular credentials…There will be plenty of rocking!”

One of the two poems not included was written by faiz from a jail in Lahore. The second was about a visit to Dhaka, according to the IE report.

The board also decided to do away with a chapter on 'Central Islamic Lands,' which was part of the History content for Class 11. The chapter dealt with rise of Islamic empires in Afro-Asian territories and its economic and social implications.

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