At a time when Kamal Nath is battling internal revolt to save his government, the Kamal Nath government finds itself in a fresh controversy as state board exam question paper refers to Pakistan occupied Kashmir as “Azad Kashmir”.
The controversy erupted as Class 10 state board examination referred to PoK as “Azad Kashmir” not once, but twice. In the Social Science examination, the fourth question asked examinees to match six pairs of sub-questions with six sub-answers. The words “Azad Kashmir” formed one of the sub-answers/sub-options. In question number 26, the examinees were asked to plot Azad Kashmir on the Map of India.
It seems that the Indian National Congress has been blinded by its love for Pakistan. From towing Pakistan’s line on sensitive issues like Pulwama and the Balakot strikes where the party refused to believe the government and the army and shamefully asking for proof, the party indeed has come a long way. Pakistan refers to its part of occupied Kashmir as “Azad Kashmir” and it seems that Kamal Nath went a step too far in pleasing his masters in Pakistan.
Compare the Congress’s stance on Kashmir to the BJP. The latter has always stressed that the entire Kashmir belongs to India and the abrogation of Article 370 was an important step to integrate Kashmir into India. Home Minister Amit Shah on many occasions has pledged to take back PoK at the first available opportunity.
Speaking to PTI, state BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal said, “Kashmir is an integral part of India. The Indian government has passed a resolution to this effect. Has Madhya Pradesh’s Congress regime recognized Azad Kashmir?
After the BJP stepped up the pressure, the MP government has suspended the concerned question paper setter with immediate effect.
This is not the first time that the Congress finds itself in a spot over this. In December last year, in a module book of class 10, Mahatma Gandhi had been depicted negatively by being termed ‘Kubuddhi’. The controversial line read: “Kubuddhi was a wicked man and led a life of drinking and gandhijis.”
In Rajasthan, the Congress government in an attempt to distort history to suit their agenda has removed the prefix ‘Veer’ from Savakar’s name in Class X social science textbooks as the textbook now refers to him as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who “plotted assassination” of Mahatma Gandhi, who was killed by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948, less than a year after India gained independence from Britain.
The controversy over “Azad Kashmir” couldn’t have come at a worse time for Kamal Nath who is facing a rebellion from within the ranks with Jyotiraditya Scindia leading the charge.
Madhya Pradesh Labour Minister, Manish Singh Sisodiya, a vocal supporter of Jyotiraditya Scindia has warned that the state government would face a crisis if it “neglects and disrespects” Jyotiraditya Scindia for too long.
Moreover, former Madhya Pradesh Water Resources Minister and senior BJP leader, Narottam Mishra had also claimed that 15-20 Congress lawmakers were in touch with the BJP.
In the coming days, we can expect the Scindia faction which has significant clout within the party to press its demands more aggressively and firmly having realised that Kamal Nath is now on the backfoot and this is the time to get what they wanted out of him.
It is no coincidence that the paper referred to PoK as “Azad Kashmir” as most of the senior Congress leaders use the same terminology as do Pakistan and separatists.
The Kamal Nath government is often in the news for all the wrong reasons as earlier a similar controversy surfaced when the Bhil tribe was termed alcoholic and criminal-minded in the question paper of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) examination, forcing CM Kamal Nath to order probe into the matter after outrage from both within the party and the opposition.
Azad Kashmir is not the same as POK. It is a part of it. POK includes two provinces that have been named as Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Azad Kashmir in short) by Pakistan. Those who are suggesting that Azad Kashmir is equal to POK are undermining India’s own stance by excluding Gilgit Baltistan from India (POK).