CBSE issues clarification over viral 'casteist' text in Class 6 History textbook

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) took to Twitter on Tuesday to issue a clarification over allegations that it has included a 'casteist' text, in the Class 6 History textbook, which talks about the Varna system and went viral on social media.

"The class 6 History textbook containing topics on Varnas has been wrongly attributed as published by CBSE. This is factually incorrect. It is clarified that CBSE does not publish History textbooks, thus the matter does not relate to CBSE. Team CBSE," said the tweet by the national level of board of education. which received backlash from netizens and political parties such as Actor and Politician Kamal Hassan's Makkal Needhi Maiam and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, two prominent political parties in Tamil Nadu.

If not CBSE, then who?

CBSE, which acts as a board that sets exam and affiliation guidelines, is not a publisher of textbooks across the country. The book, which has the viral image of the text, was published by XSEED Education which is a publishing house based out of Singapore.

Social media users shared a chapter's page about the Varna System that went viral. According to the lesson's text, the Brahmins were priests and instructors, the Kshatriyas were warriors, the Vaishyas were businesspeople, artisans, and landowners, and the Shudras were labourers who assisted the other three varnas, which created an uproar among netizens.