Plea to distinguish between Hakenkreuz and Swastika in NCERT textbook

Madurai: Madras high court on Friday ordered notice to the Centre and NCERT on a plea seeking direction to revise the passage appearing in NCERT’s Class IX History textbook titled, ‘India and the Contemporary World I’, to clearly distinguish between Nazi-era symbol ‘Hakenkreuz’ (Hooked Cross) and the Dharmic symbol ‘Swastika’, with a clarificatory note that both the symbols are different.

A division bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice M Jothiraman ordered notice to the Centre and NCERT while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Mahalingam Balaji of Thanjavur district.

The petitioner stated that the incorrect association of the word Swastika with Hakenkreuz has severe, real-world impacts on Hindus, Buddhists,and Jains. Globally, this wrong association creates a potentially dangerous environment, giving the false impression that Dharmic religions are tied to Nazi ideology.

He stated that misleading and false claims propagated through their textbooks had potential impact on society. For many years, several NCERT students have been taught that Swastika is a Nazi era symbol. Unless there is a formal statement from NCERT which clearly acknowledges that Nazi era symbol was Hakenkreuz, those students will potentially continue to carry the negative perception about Swastika. Hence, the petitioner moved court seeking a direction in this regard. The hearing in the case was adjourned to July 13.

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