A booklet published by Odisha’s school and mass education department states that Mahatma Gandhi died "accidentally," reported The Wire. The Odisha government has said it was inadvertent mistake and has withdrawn the booklet.
The two-page booklet called ‘Our Bapuji: A Glimpse’ was released to mark Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. It states that he died in New Delhi's Birla house on 30 Janurary, 1948 due to an "accidental sequence of events.”
In reality, Gandhi was shot dead by Nathuram Godse at a prayer meeting in Birla House. He was apprehended, tried and sentenced to death.
Odisha Govt’s Response
Facing widespread criticism the Odisha government on Saturday, 16 November, said it was an inadvertent mistake and there was no intention to feed wrong information to the children or twist the sequence of events.
School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said the government has already withdrawn the booklet.
He had earlier denied that a "deliberate" attempt was made to distort history.
He had said that it was only meant to “avoid hurting the sentiments of sensitive children.”
“Even a firing incident is an accident. But it would have been better if the facts had been further elaborated,” he claimed while speaking to The Wire.
Responding whether the booklets would be withdrawn, Dash said that a meeting would be help to decide the future course of action.
(With inputs from The Wire.)
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