Jaipur, Aug. 22 -- The biographies of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, Veer Tejaji and Chhatrapati Shivaji have been included in the latest Hindi textbooks for the primary level notified last month when the new academic session started, officials said on Thursday. "The National Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020)'s basic objective is to empower students with creativity, reasoning and practical skills to face the challenges of the 21st century. Following these objectives, RSCERT (Udaipur) have prioritised making education more inclusive, holistic and skill-based and prepared the textbooks for the primary level. To ensure a holistic development of children, Indian traditional knowledge and culture along with modern skills, social-emotional skills, arts and physical education have been prioritised in the textbooks," said the director of Rajasthan State Council for Educational Research and Training (RSCERT), Shweta Fagedia, in the preface of the new books. An analysis of the contents that have been included in the new textbooks, showed that the biography of Lord Ram has been included in Class V Hindi book (Hindi Suman- Bhaag 3) under the title- "Maryada Purushottam Shree Ram". The three-page-long chapter described Lord Ram as an "ideal character in every era" from whom people must learn "Satya" and ''Dharma". It also read, "Lord Shree Ram, one of the greatest men of ancient India, is known for his dignity, truth and devotion to his duties. He was the son of King Dasharath and Queen Kaushalya of Ayodhya. His life is a symbol of sacrifice and ideals. Shree Ram is called 'Maryada Purushottam' because he followed values and ideals throughout his life." In the same book for Class V, another short biography of Veer Tejaji was also added under the title "Gau-Rakshak Lokdevta". In another chapter called "Bharat ke Mahan Byaktitva", it also added the life-story of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Meanwhile, a chapter on Lord Krishna's biography - "Krishna ki Baal-Leela"- was also added in the Class IV Hindi textbook (Hindi-Suman - Bhaag 2). When compared with the previous textbooks which were being taught since 2014, it was also found that the biographies of Sister Nivedita and verses of Kabir and Rahim were dropped from the Class V Hindi syllabus while biographies of Pannadhayi and Kalibai Bheel have also been removed from Class IV Hindi book. The previous book also had lessons on the election process and Great Indian Bustard (GIB)- one of most endangered birds that majorly concentrates in Rajasthan. However, these are no longer part of the new books. The latest Hindi textbooks also aimed to introduce the students more to their state and its own culture as they added more local myths, poetries from Rajasthan and also content in Rajasthani language in the books. Reacting to the development, Congress spokesperson, Swarnim Chaturvedi criticized the removal of Pannadhayi and Kalibai Bheel from the textbooks. "Removing Pannadhayi and Kalibai Bheel from textbooks is an insult to Rajasthan's history and tradition. Our children must learn about those who contributed to develop tribal communities, society and the morale of this state." Meanwhile, state education minister Madan Dilawar said, "Pannadhayi and Kalibai Bheel are not neglected as they will be included in the books in later classes. Our goal was to introduce the students more with the local tradition and also the Indian tradition. We framed the curriculum accordingly."...