ISLAMABAD - A controversy over a cartoon published in a textbook that allegedly ridiculed the beard has forced education officials to recall the published material from all over the Pakistan, fearing violence over alleged blasphemy.
The caricature was published inside the back cover page of a Sindhi textbook for the third grade, recently distributed by the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) in adult literacy centres in district Tando Mohammad Khan, Sindh.
Almost immediately it draw the ire of the locals. Life threats to education officials were followed with threats to burn down their offices about two weeks ago. Local preachers even issued a decree declaring that “all NCHD officials involved in the preparation, printing, review as well as distribution of books are ‘Wajibul-Qatal’ (liable to death).”
The cartoon that stirred the controversy illustrates miseries of a couple parenting six children beyond their means and exhorts the message of family planning.   Published under the title “Nandho Khandan, Zindagi Asaan”( small family, happy life), the cartoon shows a child lying in a sack-swing attached to the beard of a man, who is wearing trousers, on one hand and hinged to the braid of an expecting woman on the other. Five more children are also shown clinging to their parents.
But to the local community it was no laughing matter as they claimed that the beard and plait were the most respectable things for male and female in Islam. The portrayal ridiculed and showed ironic attitude towards the beard, which is a symbol of Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and blasphemous in nature, the protesters said.
Nearly 400 adult literacy centres are functional in Sindh under NCHD and thousands of such centres are supposed to be opened in other provinces in July after the release of funds for which the books were published in Sindhi and Urdu. The set-ups are financed by the federal government and operated directly under the ministry of federal education and professional training.
The Commission had published around 3 million books amounting to Rs 35 million for the expansion of adult literacy among the illiterate masses of all provinces.  The books published in Sindhi and Urdu carried the cartoon inside the back cover pages of Book-3 Sindhi and Literacy Book-2 Urdu.
Initially, the books were distributed in Tando Mohammad Khan but after seeing the reaction of the local community the material was removed from the centres. And according to national adult literacy programme coordinator Mohammad Saeed, the cover pages of all the published books were also being removed.  
Official correspondence of January 19 reveals that district programme manager of NCHD in Tando Mohammad Khan Mansoor Laghari  had informed the senior management that he was given life threats and blamed for printing allegedly blasphemous material. He via an e-mail apprised that “in the mosque of village Baqir Nizamani and Rajo Nizamani, there are announcement of burning NCHD office with all books and in this regard pamphlets were also distributed among the public.”
Sensing the gravity of the issue, the officials at the federal level directed to the provincial officials to remove the books from the centres and take all necessary measures to defuse the situation. “The picture on the book was printed mistakenly,” officials said.
Consequently, textbooks across Sindh were seized. The officials held a meeting with the religious and community leaders in Tando Mohammad Khan and after hours of heated discussions managed to cool them down, with pledges of publishing official apology in newspapers and addition of a lesson on the respect of Sunnah and women, beard, plait in curriculum.
“The books have been withdrawn and they will not be sent to other areas as well,” confirmed secretary of ministry of federal education and professional training, Muhammad Ahsan Raja. “Religious sensibilities will be taken care of. And, the matter will also be probed to fix the responsibility.” While the senior management claims the issue has been resolved amicably and the demands of the community leaders have been met, some think otherwise. “The management is trying to downplay the incident,” said one of the officials. “At first, they published the caricature without proper homework and after the reaction of the community elders, they directed to remove the back cover pages or dispose of the books without the approval of the competent authority, causing loss to public treasury amounting to millions.”