"Khalistan", "Separate Sikh Nation" Dropped From NCERT Class 12 Book

References to Khalistan, or a separate Sikh nation, will no longer be a part of the political science textbook for Class 12 students of the CBSE. The portions have been removed following objections from a top Sikh body that had flagged "objectionable content against Sikh community".

An expert committee was constituted to look into the complaint, and the decision has been taken on their recommendation, NCERT said.

"From the last sentence of the third paragraph under the sub-heading 'Punjab' the line'...but it could also be interpreted as a plea for a separate Sikh nation' is dropped. Just before this line, the given statement is rewritten as 'The Resolution was a plea for strengthening federalism in India'. In the same section (Sub-heading 'Punjab'), from the last sentence of the fourth paragraph, '... and the creation of Khalistan' is dropped" NCERT said in an official statement.

The soft copy of the Class 12 Political Science textbook with changes is uploaded on the NCERT's website, it added.

SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami had last month said that the National Council of Educational Research and Training has recorded "misleading information" about the Anandpur Sahib resolution in Chapter-8, namely Regional Aspirations, of its book 'Politics In India Since Independence', which has hurt the sentiments of the community.

Explaining the 1973 resolution, he said it talked about the state's rights and strengthening the federal structure. "It is not at all justified to portray Sikhs as separatists, so the NCERT should remove such highly objectionable mentions," Mr Dhami had said.

"The communal aspect has been taken while removing some old information and adding some new details in the Class 12 syllabus," he claimed.

The SGPC chief said the Anandpur Sahib resolution is a historical document that does not contain anything wrong.