Thiruvananthapuram : Coming down on the HRD ministry's decision to remove portions of the 'Renaissance Movement' from the class IX textbook of NCERT, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it reflects the Sangh Parivar's agenda to "rewrite" history books to suit their needs.
Portions of the historic Channar revolt (Maru Marakkal Samaram) of Kerala, the excerpts of the autobiography of C Kesavan's 'Jeevitha Samaram', are among those which have been removed.
Vijayan said the NCERT has removed the portions about the Renaissance movement, especially the struggles by Dalits and backward communities in the country.
"This was an attempt to wipe the renaissance values from the youth," he said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala also flayed the centre's decision and wrote to the NCERT director to reinsert the portions removed,especially the agitation by lower class women to cover their breasts.
In 19th century Travancore, women of lower class were not allowed to cover their breasts.
Women of the Nadar community protested from 1813-1859 against this rule and successfully gained the right to wear clothes on their upper body.