TV
Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling firmly refuted the BJD supremo and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik’s claim on Tuesday that the Paika Rebellion or Paika Bidroha was removed from NCERT textbooks.
The NCERT has already clarified that the topic remains and will be included in a forthcoming (second) volume of the Social Studies (SST) textbook for Class 8.
Also Read: Exclusion of Odisha’s Paika Rebellion from Class 8 textbook: NCERT clears the air
According to sources, in response to the controversy sparked by the former CM Naveen Patnaik’s social media post on his personal X handle alleging the removal of ‘1817 Paika Rebellion’ from the NCERT textbook, the Odisha Minister issued a strong rebuttal.
Mahaling clarified that the Paika Rebellion has not been removed from the NCERT curriculum. Rather, NCERT has officially stated that this historical event will be featured in the second part of the social science textbook, which is slated for publication soon.
Addressing directly, the Minister criticised the LoP for spreading misinformation through his tweets and accused him of attempting to mislead the people of Odisha for political gain. Mahaling described these efforts as highly laughable.
Taking to the X platform, the Minister expressed, “Dear Shri @Naveen_Odisha, I would like to inform you that the Paika Rebellion has not been removed from the @ncert textbook. As clarified by NCERT yesterday, it will soon be included in the second part of the social science book. Your attempt to mislead the people of Odisha through such a false tweet, merely to fulfill your political ambitions, is extremely laughable.”
Earlier, Naveen Patnaik had posted on social media that the Paika Bidroha of Khordha Gada in erstwhile Orissa Province was being excluded from educational materials and had urged Chief Minister Mohan Majhi to take the issue seriously.
The controversy highlights ongoing debates over textbook content and the representation of regional history.
