Anandpur Sahib Resolution: Ministry Clarifies NCERT's Neutral Stance Amid Separatist Concerns

Addressing concerns over the portrayal of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution in National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks, the Union Ministry of Education clarified on Monday that the document is not being depicted as a "separatist document."

Responding to a written query in the Lok Sabha raised by Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi conveyed that the NCERT has explicitly stated that the current Political Science textbook for Class 12, titled 'Politics of India Since Independence,' does not interpret the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a call for separatism.

Devi stated, "The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has informed that the present NCERT textbook of Political Science for Class 12, titled 'Politics of India Since Independence,' available online (ncert.nic.in) has not interpreted the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a separatist document, which was signed between the then prime minister and the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee)."

She further clarified, "They have also informed that they have not dubbed the treaty as a demand for a separate Sikh state."

The Anandpur Sahib Resolution, presented by the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1973, comprised a set of demands expressing the party's dedication to the Sikh religion and its quest for increased autonomy for Punjab. The resolution also called for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and advocated Punjabi to be accorded second-language status in neighboring states.

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