‘Hateful’: India Asks Canada Schools to Scrap Content on Farm Laws

The consulate said that the content was based on misinformation and could hamper relations between India and Canada.

Indian Consulate General, Toronto, in a statement, said that Canada school syllabus misinforms and misrepresents current developments in India.

(Photo: Twitter / @MEA India)

The Indian Consulate General in Canada’s Toronto has asked the country’s government for the removal of ‘false and hateful’ content from the school curriculum about the farmers’ protest in India against the Centre’s three new agriculture laws.

In a letter dated 11 March, the Consulate General claimed that the content was based on misinformation, misrepresents current developments in India, and that it is capable of sabotaging bilateral relations between the two countries.

“The Consulate General would further like to state that it considers this incident to be extremely serious and views it as a conspiracy to sabotage the goodwill and warm friendly relations between India and Canada by inimical entities to further their own nefarious agenda,” the letter stated.

The Consulate said it has been approached by many Canadians of Indian heritage as well as Indian nationals with children studying in schools in Ontario, with concerns that “biased and factually incorrect study material” is being taught to the students.

The letter added that the study material used by some schools in Peel, Toronto, and York districts “pushes a polarising narrative” and “creates hatred against India, Indian nationals, and people with Indian heritage.”

It also said that the parents have complained to the consulate general that their children have been subjected to “bullying and verbal harassment” due to the content of the curriculum.

“The trauma of being subjected to false and hateful content about the country of their origin, coupled with harassment by their peers has negatively impacted their mental health and well­-being.”

The Consulate General has therefore requested the Canadian government to remove “such hateful and factually incorrect material” from the curriculum immediately.