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Textbooks have an enduring impact on
the attitudes and values of children. Usually textbooks promote a specific
world view without compromising on pedagogy, but in many countries policy
makers often misuse this practice under the guise of nation building. By and
large, South Asian countries fall in the category where nationalism, religion
and ideology have overshadowed text book processes. In most of these countries,
textbooks are the only reading materials available to the students and
teachers; and South Asian students are a replica of the text they are taught in
their schools from class 1 to 10.
One can easily identify conflicting
interpretations of the similar historical events in Pakistani, Bangladeshi and
Indian textbooks, e.g. the partition & creation of Pakistan; creation of
Bangladesh; and stories of the freedom struggle.
In this paper, the textbooks of Urdu,
Islamic Studies/Ethics, English and Social Studies/Pakistan Studies from class
1-10 were analysed. Five themes were constituted to guide analytical reading of
the books in the form of 45 questions. The themes were:
- Religion
and religious tolerance
- Nationalism
- Minority
rights
- Gender
equality
- Modernity,
cultural change and citizenship.
Critical questions were developed to
analyse various aspects of textbook knowledge on the selected themes. A total
of 871 lessons were read and analysed.
Through these, the paper explored
questions like what an average Pakistani matriculated student thinks about
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh; what s/he thinks about non-Muslim Pakistanis;
what s/he thinks about South Asia, tolerance and his/her Punjabi, Pukhtoon,
Sindhi and Bloch identity, as well as about historical continuity.
We
are living in the age of information where youth is exposed to all kinds of
information in one click. Can we learn to live with our respective ideologies,
religions and nationalism/s without compromising on pedagogy and critical
thinking?
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