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| Pakistan's founder Jinnah is ridiculed | | Some text books in Lahore highlight present rulers | |
B L KAK
NEW DELHI, AUG. 25: Few in Pakistan, particularly in Lahore division, had imagined that Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, will receive unfair treatment from the Textbook Board of Punjab in Pakistan. The board, according to reports from Lahore, has allegedly replaced Jinnah's messages in some textbooks with those of present leaders of Pakistan.
The messages of Jinnah, which were printed on the first and second pages and at the end of the books published by the Punjab Textbook Board, have given way to quotes from President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and Chief Minister of the province, Pervaiz Elahi.
The English book for 10th grade, published in January 2000, quoted Mohammed Ali Jinnah as saying, "You must devote yourself wholeheartedly to your studies, for that is your first obligation to yourself." The matriculation textbook of Pakistan Studies, published in March 1997, quoted him as saying, "Pakistan's progress will require at least as much effort and sacrifice as its creation."
However, the latest versions of books published by the Punjab Textbook Board do not carry the messages. Instead, they have Gen. Musharraf's messages saying, "The progress and development of a country depends on the quality of education of its people. It is a historical fact that the Muslims ruled the world for hundreds of years on the basis of the knowledge acquired by their intellectuals, philosophers and scientists... I am pleased to note that the government has not only given importance to the sovereignty and security of the country, but also taken steps for the improvement of the quality of education and curriculum to bring it in tune with the latest standards."
And Parvaiz Elahi's message says, "... Placing main emphasis on modernisation of curriculum and textbooks proves beyond any doubt the priority given by my government to the education sector." Reports from Lahore said that the board chairman, Jehangir Aziz, held his predecessor, Saleem Akhtar Kayani, responsible for the changes. He was reported to have said that he had noticed the modifications in books published by the board and was planning to omit messages of Musharraf and Elahi from books to be published in 2007-08.
Jehangir Aziz insisted that the board considered Jinnah the 'Father of the Nation' and founder of Pakistan and that nobody could have committed the act deliberately. He said tha the exclusion of Jinnah's messages was a human error, which would be corrected as soon as possible.
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