DIMAPUR, JUNE 13 (MExN): The All India Congress Committee’s Minority Department Observer for Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland Rejaul Karim Laskar has strongly condemned the Gujarat State School Textbook Board (GSSTB) gaffe for terming Jesus Christ as hevaan (demon) in its Hindi textbook for class IX. A statement from the Observer said that “terming Jesus Christ as demon the Gujarat State School Textbook Board has hurt the sentiments of not only over 30 million Indian Christians who hold Jesus Christ as the Lord saviour but also over 180 million Indian Muslims who venerate him as Prophet.” He also wondered whether it was an unintentional mistake or deliberate attempt to hurt the sentiment of over 20 million religious minorities of India. Laskar has demanded an unconditional apology from the Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani and strict action on those responsible for this objectionable reference in the text book. He also demanded immediate withdrawal of the offensive textbooks.
