Bihar Class 7 exam paper calls Kashmir a separate country; Sparks row

The exams were conducted in the state from October 12 to 18.  Class 7 students were asked about the nationality of people belonging to different countries.

A Class 7 exam question paper sparked a row after showing Kashmir as a separate country. The incident of portraying Kashmir as distinguished from India was reported in the mid-term exams for the students of Classes one to eight. The exams were conducted in the state from October 12 to 18.  Class 7 students were asked about the nationality of people belonging to different countries. "What are the people of the following countries called? One is done for you," the question paper read.

Citing the example of China, the question paper asked "As the people of China are called Chinese, what are the people of Nepal, England, Kashmir, and India called?" According to the reports, the question paper was allegedly distributed to students in Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar.

A Human Error?

Meanwhile, clarifying the matter, head teacher SK Das stated that it was a human error.  "We got this via Bihar Education Board. The question had to ask what are people from Kashmir called? But, it mistakenly carried as what are people of the country of Kashmir called? This was human error." he said. However, District Education Officer Subhash Kumar Gupta refused to speak about the matter on camera.

The incident has sparked a controversy with educationists and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders alleging the matter is a conspiracy.

They have also sought a probe by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Notably, in 2017 as well, a similar question was asked in Bihar and a student in the Vaishali district pointed out the error.

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