A glaring mistake in a Vidyasagar University history exam has sparked emotional backlash across West Bengal. In a sixth-semester question paper, revolutionaries were mistakenly branded “terrorists” in Bengali translation while the English version correctly referred to them as “militant nationalists” within quotation marks.

University Vice-Chancellor Dipak Kumar Kar was swift to apologize, describing it as a typographical and printing mistake. He explained that quotation marks were omitted during moderation, leading to the misleading term. A two-hour emergency meeting led to the removal of two professors from exam duties, the chairman of the UG board of studies and a moderation committee member.

The misstep triggered sharp criticism, with the BJP accusing the university of rewriting history to confuse students about Indian nationalism. Leader Suvendu Adhikari demanded a public apology from CM Mamata Banerjee, calling the mention of freedom fighters as terrorists “inhumane and insulting”.

Meanwhile, academics and locals have accepted the fact that this was a real mistake, not intentionally slander. The Vice Chancellor has assured that editing processes will be made stricter to prevent such errors in the future.

This phenomenon highlights the excessive importance of accuracy and cultural sensitivity in educational materials. It may have been a painful incident, but quick confession and corrective action by the university can restore people's trust. However, even a small mistake can turn into a crisis of credit until concrete review procedures are applied.