New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, speaking at a Teachers' Day programme on Saturday, announced that his government would introduce the contributions of Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Swami Pranabananda of Bharat Sevashram Sangha into the state's school curriculum. He said both played crucial roles in the creation of West Bengal during the Partition.
Adhikari said his government would make Bengal the country's number one education state, claiming standards had declined under both the Left Front and TMC regimes. The CM said he would ensure students know of the contributions and sacrifices of Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and Swami Pranabananda, founder of Bharat Sevashram Sangha.
"Without them, West Bengal would not have existed," Adhikari said, adding that their efforts during Partition had helped save the lives of crores of Hindus.
The CM's announcement signals a shift in the BJP government's proposed approach to school education, with greater emphasis on personalities and events that, he said, shaped the formation of West Bengal.
Adhikari also announced that his government had earmarked Rs 300 crore as "composite grants" for state-run and aided schools to restore infrastructure and basic amenities. The CM alleged that several schools had suffered neglect during the previous Trinamool Congress government. He claimed Trinamool had prioritised "khela, mela, Puja grants and allowances for Imams" over developing educational infrastructure.
The CM further accused the previous dispensation of extending "special favours" to students of a particular community in granting scholarships based on religion, as part of an appeasement policy of the Trinamool government.
"We will, however, follow an inclusive approach," Adhikari said.
The proposed curriculum change is likely to trigger a political debate over the representation of Partition and Bengal's history in school textbooks.
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh said that politics should not enter textbooks.
Mookerjee, a key figure in the movement for a separate West Bengal during Partition, has long remained central to the BJP's political narrative in Bengal.
After the BJP government assumed office in the state, it declared June 20 as the foundation day of West Bengal, marking the date in 1947 when the state Assembly decided that West Bengal would remain part of India.
Adhikari's announcement also comes against the backdrop of the BJP government's broader attempt to recast educational and cultural narratives in the state, with the CM positioning curriculum reform as part of an "inclusive" approach rather than one based on what he described as minority appeasement.
The CM had recently pointed out that Indian leaders were not adequately represented in the school syllabus under the Left Front government, while the TMC, he alleged, had focused largely on promoting its own agenda.
He said it was now time to make amends and ensure that the contributions of such leaders received due place in the curriculum.
Later in the day, the CM took to social media and stated that the West Bengal government had introduced a new Transfer Management Module on the Higher Education Department's Banglar Uchchashiksha portal to streamline faculty transfers.
He also stated that the online system replaces the earlier manual process, enabling digital submission, processing, tracking and record-keeping of applications.
He added that government college faculty can now apply for transfers on special grounds and mutual transfers. For government-aided college faculty, the portal will initially facilitate mutual transfer applications, with other transfer facilities to follow after amendments to the relevant Act and Rules.
The CM said the move would make governance faster, simpler and more transparent through digital technology.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.