After the reports of NCERT textbook not having any information regarding some of the highly contested claims made in class 12 History textbook, another news has emerged from Kerala regarding a false claim made in the state board political science textbook. According to class 9 social science textbook, Abu al-Qasim Al-Zahwari is the ‘father of surgery’; while it is widely regarded that Indian physician Sushruta had done surgeries way back in 8th century BCE. Al-Zahwari is said to have lived in 10th century C.E.

The controversial content is printed on page 34 of the textbook under the title great people and their contributions. Calling Abu al-Qasim Al-Zahwari the father of surgery has triggered massive controversy in Kerala as people questions the state board over ignoring the fact that Sushruta is considered the ‘father of surgery’. Sushruta in his book Sushruta Samhita has given information about medicine and surgery. The Sushruta Samhita, in its extant form, in 184 chapters contains descriptions of 1,120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources.

The text discusses surgical techniques of making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid, removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesicolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids, fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines and accidental perforation of the abdomen with protrusion of omentum and the principles of fracture management, viz., traction, manipulation, apposition and stabilization including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetic. It enumerates six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures, and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries, and gives a classification of eye diseases including cataract surgery.

Textbooks carrying such errors are a serious threat to the civilisation itself, as the students who learn these things will be deprived of the nation’s real history.

Sushrutha, who lived in the kingdom of Kashi, is known to have performed surgeries and detailed several surgical techniques in his text, the ‘Sushruta-Samhita‘.  He is also considered as ‘Father of Indian Medicine‘ and ‘Father of Plastic Surgery‘ for inventing and developing several surgical procedures.

The Sushrutha Samhita, in its extant form, has 184 chapters containing descriptions of 1,120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources, and 57 preparations based on animal sources. The majestic text discusses several surgical techniques including making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining the abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid, removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesicolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, etc.

The treatise also enumerates six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures, and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries, and gives a classification of eye diseases including cataract surgery. In addition to this, it also speaks about the management of hemorrhoids, fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines and accidental perforation of the abdomen with protrusion of omentum and the principles of fracture management, viz., traction, manipulation, apposition, and stabilization including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetic.

The deliberate falsification of established facts by crediting one’s achievement to mythical individuals in an attempt to secularise education by the Kerala government has generated a massive controversy in Kerala.

Many in the state are questioning the state board for blatantly ignoring the fact that Sushrutha is widely regarded as the ‘father of surgery’. Reportedly, it is being alleged that the Kerala government are knowingly using such distorted textbooks to teach to students and added that such acts can be a serious threat to the India’s civilizational fabric, as students who learn these errors without verifying actual facts.

Need to change the syllabus in current textbooks: Parliamentary Standing Committee

Incidentally, the controversy has broken out just days after the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education met on Wednesday to discuss the revision of current National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) history textbooks in schools.

During the debate over the need for change in the syllabus, former NCERT director JS Rajput and representatives of the Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM) told the committee that current history textbooks in schools are not doing justice to the subcontinent’s contribution in cultural, artistic advances and a lot of other topics.

The panel had met to mainly discuss the need to remove references to un-historical facts and distortions about our national heroes, to ensure proportionate references to all periods of Indian history, and to highlight the role of great women in Indian history.

NCERT says it has no information on source of claim made in textbook

A few days back, a person named Shivank Verma had filed an RTI application seeking evidence for the claim made in the NCERT textbook ‘Themes of Indian History (Part II)’ for class XII which mentioned that grants were issued by the Mughal emperors for the repair of temples destroyed in war during the reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

The NCERT had, however, said that it has no evidence to prove that Mughal emperors had rebuilt temples destroyed in wars, even when it claims the same in its history textbook. As per a report in The Hindu, the meeting also discussed how the ‘Mughal-era’ is overemphasized in current books, often whitewashing their crimes, while ignoring most Hindu rulers and their contributions to the subcontinent’s heritage.