Chennai, Nov 16 (IBNS): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to remove the chapter that made 'objectionable' references about the Nadar community of the state in a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class nine social science textbook.
In the letter, she said details in the book "Caste, Conflict and Dress Change" about the community were 'very misleading and may leave a wrong impression in the minds of the students'.
"The social and economical development achieved by the Nadars over the years is commendable. Their success in the fields of education and business can be attributed to their hard work and determination," the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo said.
She said the Nadar community 'is not a lower caste' as mentioned in the text book.
"The Nadars are said to be descendants of those who ruled the Cheran, Cholan and Pandyan Kingdom," said Jayalalithaa.
"The Nadar community is not a lower caste as mentioned in the CBSE book. Rather, they have been rulers of South India at one point of time," she said.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi on Thursday wrote to the PM and urged him to remove the remarks on the community.
"Such misleading and derogatory depiction of any community is highly objectionable and should have no place in our education system," read Karunanidhi's letter.
"It is also historically incorrect to have labelled them as migrants to the Southern districts of Tamil Nadu," he said.
