"Children must know Partition horrors," says BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain

New Delhi [India], August 16 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on Saturday defended the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)'s decision to introduce a special module on Partition Horrors Day for students from classes 6 to 12, saying younger generations have the right to learn about the devastation caused during Partition.
"The partition that happened and the horror it ensued after it was completely true. There is a lot of discussion about the way we got independence on the 15th, but not about the horror that happened during the partition," Hussain said while speaking to ANI in Delhi.
He questioned the role of the Congress leadership at the time, asking why the party accepted the terms.
"The British did the partition. But why did the Congress accept it?... Accepting the partition is like burning the country. Many people died, and many houses were destroyed," he said.
Hussain added that the module was not an attempt to rewrite history but to ensure schoolchildren understand the human cost of Partition.
"Children have the right to know how terrible it was. Everyone talks about independence, but no one took responsibility for the partition. Now, when NCERT is including this subject, Congress leaders are talking about burning it," he stated.
The reaction comes after Congress leader Pawan Khera's remarks on NCERT's release of a special study module on Partition Horrors Day for classes 6 to 12, asking the opposition party to clarify its position on the subject.
"Set this book on fire if it doesn't contain all of this. This is the reality. The Partition happened due to the collaboration between the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. If there is any greatest villain in history, it is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)," Khera said in a press conference.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Sanjay Seth on Saturday joined the political debate over NCERT's special module on Partition Horrors Day, asserting that students have the right to know about one of the most painful chapters in India's history.
"Does the next generation not have a right to know the partition history?.. Tell him (Pawan Khera) to read history, who is responsible," Seth said in Ranchi while responding to the Congress leader's criticism of the move.
The controversy has erupted after NCERT's new special modules on the Partition of India have placed significant responsibility on the Congress leadership for the division of the country, saying they "accepted the plans of Partition" and "underestimated Jinnah" while failing to anticipate the long-term horrors that followed.
Two modules, one for the middle stage and another for the secondary stage, were released this August to mark Partition Remembrance Day. (ANI)