Roundup: Textbook triggers row again in India

A major row has erupted in India after a textbook in the western state of Rajasthan has listed out "good height" and "beautiful complexion" as essential qualities desirable for entrepreneurs.

The textbook is one among those on "socially relevant schemes" that have been introduced in the secondary and senior secondary classes in government schools across Rajasthan, as part of the latest curriculum change.

The textbook focus mainly on announcements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and instructs students to "internalize each word" of his Swacch Bharat (Clean India) pledge.

A chapter on Skill Development lists the "physical attributes" desirable in an entrepreneur include Uttam swasthya, prabhavshali vyaktitva, acchi unchai, sundar rang, shaleenta, gambhirta (perfect health, impressive personality, good height, beautiful complexion, sobriety, seriousness).

The latest controversy came just days after the Indian government ordered a probe into a textbook that described the "best" female body shape as 36"-24"-36".

Indian Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has strongly condemned the "sexist" book and ordered for "appropriate action" after snapshots of the offending text were widely circulated on social media.

India, which has a literacy level well below the global average, has intensified its efforts in the field of education. But controversies over Indian textbooks are not uncommon.

In February this year, an animal rights row erupted over a textbook which told children how to suffocate kittens.

Similarly in 2014, a book in the western state of Gujarat made headlines for claiming that Japan had dropped nuclear bombs on the United States during World War II.

And in 2012, a national text for 11-year-old students said that people who ate meat "easily cheat, tell lies, forget promises, are dishonest and tell bad words, steal, fight and turn to violence and commit sex crimes." Endit