Vajpayee's achievements to be included in school textbooks in Raj

Milestones achieved during the regime of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be included in school textbooks in Rajasthan from the next academic session, Education Minister Vasudev Devnani said today.

Devnani has written to the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education-Ajmer to start the process of scrutinising the contents and highlighting them in school textbooks.

"Major transformation and achievements during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be highlighted in school textbooks. I have given the directions to the Board to initiate the process to get the things done," Devnani told PTI.

"Students should know about his great and influential leadership during Kargil war, nuclear tests in Pokhran in Jaisalmer and unforgettable contribution to the country through programmes like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana among others which took the country on the path of development," he said.

The directions were given on August 18 and a committee of experts will take up the task.

Apart from highlighting the achievements of Vajpayee, who died on August 16, the minister is also considering to make available biography of Vajpayee in selected libraries of every district.

In Rajasthan, several changes in the school curriculum have been made and many Indian personalities, including Rajput king Maharana Pratap, were included in the last four years.