A committee headed by the former additional chief secretary, Dr D. Babu Paul, has asked the state government to remove certain portions in the 10th standard Social Science textbook that has allegedly offended the Catholic Church.
The state government had recently appointed the Babu Paul committee to review the textbook after the issue became a controversy.
In its report submitted to the general education secretary, Mr James Varghese, the committee pointed out that the textbook was prepared with a Marxist outlook.
Hence certain portions in the text book, especially those pertaining to the European Renaissance movement, contained remarks that were against the Church. Hence those portions shall be removed from the textbook, the panel said.
The church representatives had alleged that the textbook, that was prepared by the research council appointed by the previous CPM-led Left Democratic Front government, gave more emphasis to Marxist ideology and had ridiculed the church.
The church was especially incensed at the textbook’s references to its stance “against the growth of knowledge” during the European Enlightenment. Church leaders were also angered by the textbook’s remarks that Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper painting showed Christ’s disciples eyeing each other with suspicion.
The former director of archives, Mr S. Raimon, was also a member of the committee. Though the historian, M.G.S. Narayanan, was also appointed to the committee he refused to join it.