By Express News Service CHENNAI: Wondering as to how a passage in the social science textbook for class 10, relating to RSS and Hindu Maha Sabha’s role in opposing Muslims, can be deleted on the basis of a representation from an individual, a division bench of the Madras High Court has ordered notice to the State education department and other agencies including the SCERT, on a PIL petition on Wednesday. The bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and R Hemalatha issued the notice returnable by March 19, when the writ petition from advocate S Doraisamy, also the vice-president of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK), came up on Wednesday. The petition sought to quash a circular dated January 10 of the State Council for Education, Research and Training (SCERT), which directed removal of a certain passage in a school textbook under the caption ‘Hindu Communalism, Muslim Communalism and Indian nationalism’. The passage stated that the Hindu Maha Sabha (HMS) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) took a prominent anti-Muslim stance. An RSS member P Chandrasekaran had also filed a separate writ petition in the High Court to remove that passage on the ground that it was a baseless and wrong message. The highly objectionable passage should be deleted, otherwise it would lower the image of the RSS, he had contended. And the SCERT on January 10 had issued the circular directing the removal of the passage. In his petition, Doraisamy sought to direct the School Education authorities not to remove the passage. He submitted that it was not false and was a true historical fact. The younger generation should know the past history of the land.

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