An English book for pre-primary students in Burdwan Municipal Girls School in West Bengal has come under scanner for using a picture of a dark-skinned man to denote the term 'ugly'. Giving rise to a controversy over the racial portrayal, it has prompted the School Education Department to seek a report in this matter.
In the book 'Child’s ABC study', a picture of a coloured man has been used to give an example of a word starting with the letter 'U'.
The matter came to light after Sudip Majumder, a professor at Bangabasi Evening College in Kolkata, noticed the objectionable depiction in his daughter's textbook.
A resident of Ramkrishna Palli district, Majumder informed the District School Inspector (Primary, East Burdwan) Swapan Kumar Dutta, who assured him that necessary steps will be taken.
"I was shocked when I saw the definition of 'ugly' in the book while teaching my daughter. What kind of education is this? Immediately I contacted the school inspector and requested him to look into the matter," said Majumder.
"This is not a state government’s book. This is a private English book and the publisher is 'Bani Prakashan' and the author is Ruma Roy," he added. "I spoke to the publisher and told him the content is not at all suitable for children. He told me they have rectified the error in the new edition."
Meanwhile, West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee has taken cognizance of the matter and suspended two school officials in the case.
The parents of students of the school demanded that the book be withdrawn immediately.
"The book is not part of the text referred by the education department. We will not tolerate such thing as this will instil prejudices into the minds of young children," said Chatterjee.
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