http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nothing-against-brahmins-in-removing-name-of-konddev-from-text-books-maratha-outfit/472662/
Nothing against Brahmins in removing name of Konddev from text books: Maratha outfit Express News Service Posted online: Sunday , Jun 07, 2009 at 0505 hrs Pune : The Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Mahasangh on Saturday said its demand for removal of the mention of Dadoji Konddev as a mentor of Shivaji Maharaj from Class IV textbooks was not because of any resentment against Brahmins. The Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharati) has removed the mention of Dadoji Konddev as a teacher of Shivaji Maharaj from the history book of Class IV this academic year onwards. “We demanded the removal of Dadoji’s name from textbooks, as there was no proof that he was Shivaji Maharaj’s mentor. We were against the efforts to portray Dadoji as Shivaji’s guru. However, we are not denying Dadoji’s role in the administration,” said Rajendra Kondhare, general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Mahasangh. While the Maratha organisations that made the demand welcomed it, the issue has drawn flak from historians. Maratha organisations such as Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Mahasangh, Maratha Seva Sangh and Sambhaji Brigade had demanded that the state government remove the name of Dadoji as Shivaji Maharaj’s teacher, claiming he had no role in the upbringing of Shivaji Maharaj. The previous textbooks mentioned that Dadoji taught him warfare tactics. The state government set up a five-member committee last year that included historians like Dr Jaysingrao Pawar, Dr Gajanan Mehendale, Dr Raja Dixit, Dr Somnath Rode and J V Naik to look into the issue. The committee submitted its report to the state government and on that basis Balbharati made the changes in the textbook. It was alleged that Maratha organisations wanted to remove Dadoji’s name, as he was a Brahmin. Refuting the allegation, Kondhare said, “The demand did not come from any resentment against the Brahmin community. We wanted a factual portrayal of history.” The new book has a paragraph explaining the brave deeds of Dadoji Konddev. It mentions that Shivaji took weaponry lessons under the guidance of a few experts appointed by Shivaji’s father Shahajiraje when Shivaji and his mother Jijabai had shifted to Pune. M R Kadam, officiating director of Balbharati confirmed the changes. He said, “The history textbook of Class IV had not been changed for the last 20 years. This year, a revision was due. The Balbharati staff don’t write the textbooks, experts do. The state government had set up a committee to decide the script. Dixit and Naik didn’t attend any meeting, Mehendale resigned after attending two meetings. Finally, Pawar and Rode submitted the report to the state government.” Mehendale, who has been researching on Shivaji Maharaj for more than 25 years, said, “I attended two meetings of the committee but when I came to the conclusion that the committee head Pawar had only caste considerations and no rational view on history, I resigned,” he said. Mehendale said even in a book written by Pawar, there is a mention of Dadoji Konddev as a teacher of Shivaji Maharaj. “If the history books are to be changed under pressure from various organisations, let them write all the books,” he said. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
