Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar Stirs Controversy By Calling Akbar A Rapist

Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar stirred a controversy by calling Mughal emperor Akbar “a rapist” and removing a term referring to him as a “great personality”.

State education minister’s remarks came over a debate on to required changes in schools’ textbooks. Dilawar commented that he does not ask to alter the syllabus or overhaul the education system as it is equally important to read all the languages. However, there is a need to erase only the false and misleading information in the textbooks, he said.

While talking to a news agency, Dilawar said that false information such as ‘Shivaji was a Pahadi Chuha (Mouse)’, Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad as terrorist, and invalidity of Savarkar’s contribution in the national struggle are given in the present syllabus. While talking about this, the state minister objected against personifying Akbar as ‘great’ instead he called him a ‘rapist’. Dilawar said, “Akbar was never a great personality. He was an aggressor and a rapist. He used to call girls from bazaars and rape them. Calling such a man a great personality is stupidity”.

Reportedly, Madan Dilawar has also given remarks on controversial topics in the past by commenting on the Universal applicability of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country. He said that UCC is a demand of every citizen and should be implemented in the entire nation to bring equality of law.

Earlier, talking about education reforms he commented on teachers’ conduct and warned them to take strict actions against teachers with wrong conduct and involved in inappropriate behaviour. He warned against the suspension of these teachers and bulldozing their properties. He also called against favouritism in the education sector. While talking about Madrasa education, Dilawar called them a temple of education and demanded to provide education in the line of school education in India. In a previous interview, he also emphasized following the dress code in schools and opposed veils and face covering on the premises.

The State Education Minister had also created controversy with his remarks on the role of education institutions in the preservation of Indian culture and tradition. While talking about the issue, the minister had also commented previously on mandatory Saraswati Images in the schools and Surya namaskar as a ritual to perform in the schools.