Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Balurghat
The Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) has appealed to the Prime Minister for the immediate revocation of the suspension of Kerala teacher Guru Prasad, following his alleged involvement in framing a school-level question related to freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister and forwarded through the District Collector of Dakshin Dinajpur, the teachers’ organisation said the suspension had raised concerns within the teaching community and called for protection of the academic freedom of educators.According to the letter, Guru Prasad was associated with the preparation of questions for a Social Science Freedom Quiz conducted at the school level in the Kumbla sub-district of Kasaragod, Kerala. The organisation said his suspension followed the inclusion of a question concerning Savarkar.
The ABRSM, which describes itself as a national organisation representing around 1.4 million teachers, argued that historical personalities and events should remain legitimate subjects of academic discussion. It said teachers should be able to encourage students to examine history through questions and classroom discussion without facing disciplinary action merely for raising questions about controversial or politically debated figures.The letter described Savarkar as an important figure in India’s freedom movement and referred to his imprisonment by the British Government, including his incarceration at the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands.
The organisation maintained that asking a question about Savarkar should not, by itself, be treated as an offence or an act of indiscipline. It added that if the disputed question contained any factual or linguistic error, the matter could be addressed through appropriate academic or administrative measures.The appeal comes amid a wider debate over teachers’ academic freedom, the teaching of contested historical figures and the boundaries of political sensitivity in educational institutions.
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