The book, Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami, has been written by Dr Shubha Sathe and has been prescribed to the school syllabus under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Opposition parties in Maharashtra are seeing red over the scandalous portrayal of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Maratha king and son of Shivaji in a book that education ministry has prescribed for schools in the state. They have demanded the immediate withdrawal of a book on the 17th century Saint Samarth Ramdas which they claim uses derogatory language and falsified historical references.
The book, Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami, has been written by Dr Shubha Sathe and has been prescribed to the school syllabus under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The book calls Sambhaji a drunkard and keeping bad company. The book says this information reached Samarth Ramdas who was pained to know this and wrote to him over this. The book further claims Ramdas met Sambhaji about this and discussed it with him.
Sambhaji Brigade and opposition leaders condemned 'maligning the image of Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' in the book. Former Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said it was unfortunate that such a book was part of the state syllabus that portrays Sambhaji Maharaj in a bad light.
"Education minister Vinod Tawde should tender an apology and this book should be withdrawn immediately. Why do they want to teach such falsified history to our children? It shows how casual this government is about our national icons," Pawar tweeted.
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad demanded that the author be booked for writing such a book. He said that it is now proved that Ramdas and Shivaji-Sambhaji Maharaj had nothing to do with each other. "Despite this, a certain class and community of people, are creating falsified and fictional history and spreading it deliberately to malign our icons. The fictional work cannot be treated as history. Most of these books are written by the right-wing leaning writers through the Brahminical mindset. They are trying to malign our Bahujan (masses) icons," Awhad alleged.
"Earlier too, American author James W Laine's 'Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India' had written obnoxious stuff about our King. False material was provided by Brahmin scholars to malign Shivaji Maharaj," said Liladhar Patil, leader of the Sambhaji Brigade. The book was subsequently banned in India.
Maligned
- The book calls Chhatrapati Sambhaji Mahara a drunkard and keeping bad company
- Opposition claimed that such books are written by the right-wing leaning writers through the Brahminical mindset
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}