Uttarakhand: Father of class 2 student objects to words 'Abbu', 'Ammi' in English textbook

The father of a second-grade student in Dehradun recently filed a complaint with the district magistrate regarding the use of "abbu" and "ammi" as father and mother in his son's English textbook.

By Jitendra Jangid Apr 8, 2023, 13:08 IST

The father demanded that the words be replaced with English words father and mother as abbu” and ammi” are not part of our culture” (Representational image) The boy’s father said his seven-year-old son had begun to address him as "abbu” and his mother as "ammi” after learning the words from his textbook Follow us: FacebookTwitter InstagramTelegramGoogle News The father of a class 2 boy recently approached the Dehradun district magistrate complaining against the use of “abbu” and “ammi” for father and mother in the English textbook of his school. The boy’s father, Manish Mittal, said his seven-year-old son had begun to address him as “abbu” and his mother as “ammi” after learning the words from his textbook. In his complaint to District Magistrate Sonika, he has demanded that the words be replaced with English words father and mother as “abbu” and “ammi” are not “part of our culture”. Also read| ‘Oversight’, ‘Should Not Be Blown Out of Proportion’: NCERT Chief on Removal of Text on Gandhi “I received a complaint to this effect from the parent of a child sometime back. I have referred the matter to the chief education officer,” Sonika told PTI. An officer privy to the development said the words appear in a caricature in the book in which the main character, Amir, addresses his father and mother as “abbu” and “ammi”. Published by a Hyderabad-based publisher, the book has been part of the approved study material of ICSE board for years with thousands of its copies in circulation already, he said.

The father of a second-grade student in Dehradun recently filed a complaint with the district magistrate regarding the use of "abbu" and "ammi" as father and mother in his son's English textbook. The boy's father, Manish Mittal, claimed that his seven-year-old son had started using these words to address him and his mother after learning them from the textbook.

He requested that the words be replaced with English equivalents as he felt that "abbu" and "ammi" were not a part of Indian culture.

District Magistrate Sonika confirmed that she had received the complaint and referred the matter to the chief education officer. The words "abbu" and "ammi" appear in a caricature in the book, where the main character Amir addresses his parents using these words. The book, published by a Hyderabad-based publisher, has been approved by the ICSE board for several years and has thousands of copies in circulation.

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