From ‘Nimbooda’ to ‘Rind Posh Maal’: Bollywood songs in Odisha textbooks set off row | India Information
3 min learnBhubaneswarJun 29, 2026 10:48 PM IST
A Class 8 Odia textbook’s point out of Bollywood numbers ‘nimbooda…nimbooda’ and ‘Rind Posh Maal’ as examples of folks songs has kicked up a row, bringing extra scrutiny to a state already reeling from an issue over blunders at school textbooks.
The Class 8 guide, Kruti (artwork schooling), options the lyrics of ‘nimbooda…nimbooda’, a track from the 1999 Bollywood hit ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ for instance of a Rajasthani folks track. It additionally has ‘Rind Posh Maal’, popularised by the 2000 film ‘Mission Kashmir’, for instance of a Kashmir folks track.
The point out of those songs, together with the Odia track ‘Raja Doli’ within the Class 5 English guide Pallavi and ‘Bumbro…Bumbro’ within the Class 3 guide, as examples of folks songs have sparked a row. All 4 songs have folks roots, with ‘Rind Posh Maal’ initially penned as a love poem by the late 18th Century Kashmiri poet, Rasul Mir.
In the meantime, the Class 6 textbook Kaushala Sikshya (ability schooling) teaches college students learn how to put together ‘Jhal Mudi’, fruit salad, buttermilk, ‘lassi’, ‘mint chutney’, ‘sandwich’ and ‘Kachumber raita’.
When contacted, a senior Faculty and Mass Schooling Division official mentioned the songs have been included to familiarise college students with the tradition of varied states.
“It has been completed beneath the ‘Ek Bharat … Shresta Bharat’ initiative. Each the songs are there within the NCERT books from which we now have introduced it to books ready by Odisha govt,” the official mentioned, requesting anonymity.
This comes at a time when State Council of Academic Analysis and Coaching (SCERT) textbooks are beneath elevated scrutiny after 1,678 errors have been present in them. At 705, the Class 8 textbooks account for the best variety of errors, together with factual inaccuracies, grammatical errors, spelling errors and incorrect references.
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Among the many errors, the Karnataka Meeting constructing is recognized because the Odisha Vidhan Sabha, Sir Isaac Newton is described because the “best pilot”, and Hampi in Karnataka is recognized because the Konark Solar Temple.
The state authorities has already suspended 4 senior officers, together with the previous SCERT director, based mostly on the findings of the committee that probed the errors. It has additionally introduced implementation of the panel’s 14-point suggestions from the following educational session to rectify the errors.
In the meantime, officers within the Odisha Textual content Ebook Manufacturing and Advertising (TBP&M) wing admitted that a part of the textbook printing work was outsourced to personal presses at a price of Rs 21 crore. They mentioned the TBP&M alone couldn’t meet all the printing requirement for the brand new textbooks.
Odisha Faculty and Mass Schooling Minister Nityananda Gond mentioned revised pages carrying the required corrections will probably be distributed to varsities and district schooling officers. These will function the official research materials, whereas college students will proceed utilizing the prevailing textbooks alongside the supplementary corrected pages.
