Stories, poems and essays about the mass uprising of students and the public have been included in the new year’s textbook. However, in a story in the fifth-grade Bengali book, the name of a martyr is misspelt. Although a person named ‘Nahian’ is mentioned, no information about a martyr by this name has been found.
Facing criticism over the issue, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has made changes to the online version of the textbook. ‘Nahian has been replaced with ‘Nafisa’.
A story called ‘Amra Tomader Bhulbo Na’ has been included in the fifth-grade Bengali book. It includes the names of martyrs in various mass uprisings, starting from Shaheed Titumir, Pritilata Waddedar, and Language Heroes. It also includes the names of martyred heroes in the Liberation War. At the end of the story, the names and contributions of the martyrs in the mass uprising of 2024 have been highlighted.
The end of the story says that students in this country took to the streets again in 2024, demanding rights and speaking out about discrimination. Government forces brutally tried to suppress the movement. Rangpur student Abu Sayed stood up with his arms open against the police brutality. The police shot him dead at close range. This spread the movement among everyone. People from all over the country took to the streets. A huge mass uprising was created.
The story further states that Mir Mugdho, a student in Uttara, Dhaka, was killed while distributing water to all the protesters. Countless people including (Golam) Nafiz, Nahian, and Anas were killed. Children killed in their mothers’ laps, children playing with their fathers, rickshaw pullers, labourers, farmers, hawkers, employees, mothers, and pedestrians were not left out. Thousands of people were killed across the country.
Reviewing the story, it is seen that a total of five martyrs are mentioned. Abu Sayed, Mugdho, Nafiz, Nahian and Anas. Among them, no information is available about the martyr named Nahian, raising questions.
Meanwhile, NCTB officials admitted that the name Nahian was misspelled. In addition, the online version of the textbook has added the name Nafisa in place of Nahian. However, the incorrect name remains in the books that have been printed.
NCTB officials said that it was decided to include the name of a woman among the martyrs. In this, they wanted to include the name of Nafisa, an HSC examinee of Tongi’s Shahajuddin Sarkar Higher Secondary School. Nafisa was shot dead by police during a protest in Savar.
In this regard, NCTB Chairman Professor AKM Reazul Hasan said, “The name was misspelled. We fixed it after finding out. Not many books for fifth grade have been printed. The correct name has been added to those that will be printed later. Besides, we have fixed the name in the online version as well. Hopefully, there will be no more confusion about this.”
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