Question on Savarkar in freedom quiz; UP school teacher suspended in Kasaragod

The General Education Department on Sunday suspended a primary school teacher in Kasaragod over a quiz question that described Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar as the freedom fighter who received the "highest punishment" from the British.

Director of General Education Snehil Kumar Singh directed the Kasaragod Deputy Director of Education (DDE) to suspend Guru Prasad, a teacher of Aided Upper Primary School, Pallathadka in Badiadka panchayat, for allegedly setting the question for a 'Freedom Quiz' as part of the 80th Independence Day celebration. Kasaragod DDE Rafeeq on Sunday said that Guru Prasad is the secretary of the Social Science Club, Kumbla education sub-district, and responsible for conducting the quiz in Kumbla and Manjeshwar sub-districts.

The DDE's probe found that the question was misleading and recommended appropriate punitive action against the teachers responsible for preparing the question paper. He said questions were set by around three teachers under the leadership of Guru Prasad.

On August 6, the Social Science Club conducted the Freedom Quiz competition in schools under the Kumbla and Manjeshwar sub-districts of Kasaragod district. The lower primary school category quiz included 15 questions and five tie-breaker questions.

The fifth question was: "Who was the freedom fighter who received the highest punishment from the British?" The answer key provided V D Savarkar as the correct answer. "This became controversial and led to widespread protests," said the order of the Director of General Education.

Manjeshwar MLA AKM Ashraf had taken to social media to protest against the question, saying it was an attempt to communalise public education and distort historical facts.

CPM's Kasaragod district secretary and former MLA M Rajagopalan called for a vigilance probe against what he described as "planned and deliberate attempts" to spread a distorted version of India's freedom struggle among children. He warned that ignoring such tendencies in the public education sector could have serious consequences.

Taking a dig at the UDF-led government, Rajagopalan said: "Expecting the present state government to take a stand against the Sangh Parivar is like expecting drinking water from a desert".

The controversy comes at a time when the UDF government is facing political criticism over its decision to implement PM SHRI, a scheme the coalition had opposed while in Opposition.

Minister Samsudheen had ordered a probe into the Savarkar question, and called for strict action following the controversy.