Dumka, Aug. 22: Inclusion of a textbook in which Santhal heroes Sidhu and Kanhu have been described as “luchcha” and “lampat” (lumpen), has caused a storm in academic circles. Tribal scholars have demanded a ban on the textbook and its immediate withdrawal from the syllabi of the Master of Arts (Santhali) curriculum of the Sidhu Kanhu University.

The Santhali Sahitya Parishad, the Akhil Bharatiya Santhal Lekhak Sangh and the Santhali Bhasha Morcha have condemned the move of the university authorities, alleging that the book was included in spite of a movement by scholars and students seeking a ban on it a decade ago.

The textbook, prescribed for the eighth paper of MA (Santhali) and carrying 20 marks, has been written by Ratya Soren and published by the “literature committee” of the Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1917 for the first time. The last edition of the textbook happens to be the fifth one while the original manuscript is believed to be still in the possession of the Church.

The book is basically a travelogue, recalled by the leader of a tribal group which fled to Assam in search of job. On Page 18, the book contains a sentence that reads, “…so we Santhals had to leave behind our homes and cattle due to the acts of anti-religion loafers like Sidhu and Kanhu…”

Significantly, leader of the Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly Stephen Marandi happens to be one of the faculty members of the department of Santhali studies of the university. While vice-chancellor Indu Dhan and Marandi were not available, other university sources remained tight lipped over the controversy.

“The book is derogatory to the tribal heroes who organised the tribals against the British and the landlords in 1855. The university has been named after Sidhu Kanhu in view of their immense contribution to the country’s freedom struggle. It is therefore a slur, and obviously an irony that such offensive descriptions should find place in a textbook accepted and recommended by a university named after them,” exclaimed an agitated Santhal scholar Basudeo Besra. “Should we now rename the university as a loafer and lumpen university?” he asked in disgust.

Besra, other scholars like Babulal Murmu and the Santhal Sahitya Parishadhave condemned the move of the university which acted in defiance of popular mood. “There is no explanation since the book had already generated considerable heat and tribal scholars have been seeking a ban on it,” said a member of the Santhali Bhasha Morcha led by Mayurbhanj parliamentarian Salkhan Murmu.

The issue is likely to snowball into a major controversy and while it threatens to become politicised as well, students seem to be gearing up to oppose the book. “You install their statues, name various organisations and even the university after them and then insult their memory by recommending a book that calls them names,” said university student Bogla Soren. Students did not rule out an agitation by them in the near future.