BIhar Class 7 question paper calls Kashmir a separate country, triggers outrage

A Class 7 question paper in a school in Bihar allegedly contained a question that distinguished Kashmir from India, sparking a new controversy. From October 12 to October 18, the Bihar government's Education Department administered midterm exams to students in grades 1 through 8.

The Class 7 children in their exam were purportedly asked: "What are the people of the following countries called? One is done for you." The question in the paper was, "If the people of China are called Chinese, what are the people of Nepal, England, Kashmir, and India called?"

This question was allegedly asked to the students in Araria, Kishanganj, and Katihar districts.

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SK Das, the school's headmaster, stated to the media: "Through Bihar Education Board, I got this.  Question had to ask what are people from Kashmir called?  Mistakenly carried as what are people of country of Kashmir called? This was human error."

Shrawan Kumar, the minister of rural development for Bihar, reaffirmed that the incident will be looked into, and that those involved would face harsh punishment.

The Bihar Education Department described it as a "human error," but the state's leading opposition party, the BJP, termed it a "plot" and demanded that those responsible for creating the question paper for Class 7 face harsh punishment.

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Sanjay Jaiswal, the head of the Bihar BJP, attacked the Nitish Kumar administration in the state by claiming that the Janata Dal (United) does not see Kashmir as a part of India. He further claimed that all Hindi schools in the Seemanchal area had been closed. In response to the BJP's accusation, Sunil Singh, the leader of the JD(U), said that Kashmir is a fundamental part of India and that the BJP is creating an unnecessary fuss about it.

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