Bihar: Exam paper in Kishanganj mentions Kashmir as separate country, sparks row

A Class 7 English question paper at a school in Bihar’s Kishanganj has sparked a major row after it identified Kashmir as a separate country.

In the question paper, students were asked what the countrymen of five countries are called. The countries were England, ‘Kashmir’ and India, China, and Nepal.

The matter soon got viral in the political lane, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) picked up the issue, condemned the slip-up and accused the Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance government of appeasement politics.

Sushant Gope, BJP District President, said that it’s a deliberate attempt to show Kashmir and India apart in the minds of students.

 “This is an attempt to give air to the politics of appeasement of the Mahagathbandhan. There is an attempt to show Kashmir and India apart in the minds of children. It is not a mistake, it is part of Nitish Kumar's conspiracy to gain political traction before the upcoming elections,” he said.

The school authorities, however, issued a clarification that the exam paper was set by the Bihar Education Board for government schools. The school authorities said that it was a misprint due to human error.

AIMIM leader Shahid Rabbani said that strict action must be taken against person involved in the matter.  "If it was a mistake, it should be rectified. If it was done intentionally, then strict action should be taken. There is no role of government in this and there should be no politics over it," said Rabbani.