Officials of the Telangana State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) have come under fire from various teachers' groups and organisations for excluding the words "Socialist" and "Secular" from the Preamble of the Constitution on the front cover of Class 10 Social Studies textbooks. The omission has sparked concerns about the distortion of constitutional values and principles.
The Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF) raised a complaint on Thursday, demanding a thorough investigation and strict action against the responsible TSCERT officials for this oversight. In response, TSCERT Director Radha Reddy admitted that the mistake occurred during the process of designing the textbook cover when an incorrect image of the Preamble was downloaded.
Expressing deep concern, Y Ashok Kumar, President of the Telangana Progressive Teachers Federation (TPTF), highlighted the gravity of the error. He emphasised that the textbooks should be recalled, and accurate images of the Preamble should be provided as replacements. Kumar further demanded severe consequences for those responsible for the mistake.
“On behalf of TPTF, we demand the government to take back the books and replace them with the accurate images of the Preamble. Further, the people who were responsible for this mistake, should be gravely punished.” Kumar told TNM
The newly printed textbooks were distributed on June 20 in commemoration of Telangana Education Day. Approximately 5 lakh copies of the English and Telugu textbooks have already been circulated. Despite the inaccurate depiction on the cover, Chapter 15 of the Social Science textbook explains the significance of the terms "Socialist" and "Secular." Page 227 clarifies, “During the 1970s, significant changes were made to the Constitution, including the addition of two words, ‘Secular’ and ‘Socialist,’ in the Preamble. These words were included to emphasise the values of secularism and socialism, which are also reflected in other words such as ‘Equality,’ ‘Liberty,’ and ‘Justice’ present in the Preamble.”