Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Saturday ordered an inquiry into a question asked in the social science paper of the class 10 state board examination that referred to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as “Azad Kashmir”, PTI reported. Two officials have been suspended and the questions have been cancelled.
Nearly 11.29 lakh students appeared for the compulsory exam on Saturday.
The question paper used “Azad Kashmir” twice – once when students were asked to identify it on the map of India and again as one of the options in a “match the following pairs’’ question. Both questions, carrying five marks each, were scrapped, reducing the 100-mark paper to 90 marks.
“As soon as the information of the objectionable question reached Chief Minister Kamal Nath, he ordered an inquiry into it,” Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja said.
Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Congress should focus its attention on the state instead of squabbling internally.
Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal hit out at the Congress government and said Kashmir is an integral part of India. “The Indian government has passed a resolution to this effect,” he added. “Has Madhya Pradesh’s Congress regime recognized Azad Kashmir?”
Agarwal alleged that senior Congress leaders also use the “same terminology” as Pakistan and separatists.
School Education Minister Prabhuram Choudhary said on Twitter that the teacher and moderator responsible for setting the paper containing the objectionable question have been suspended.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights wrote to the secretary of Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, saying prima facie it appears to be a “criminal offence”, The Indian Express reported. “Such kinds of questions are potentially misleading, which can negatively influence the minds of children since ‘Azad Kashmir’ is not a constitutionally approved phrase/term,” the commission said. “Also, usage of such terms in examination paper by MPBSE is viewed as endorsement of such term/phrase which is not in consonance with the Constitution of India.”
Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo asked the government whether such terms were part of the school curriculum, and if not, how come they were used in the question paper.
The NCPCR demanded a probe report on the matter within seven days.
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