The CBSE Class XII sociology paper held on Wednesday asked students to name the government under which the "anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002" took place, a question the board later said was "inappropriate" and against its guidelines.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) also said strict action would be taken against "responsible persons".
"A question has been asked in today's Class XII Sociology Term 1 exam which is inappropriate and in violation of the CBSE guidelines for external subject experts for setting question papers. CBSE acknowledges the error made and will take strict action against the responsible persons," the board said in an official statement.
It said the CBSE guidelines for paper-setters clearly state that they have to ensure the questions should be academic oriented only and should be class-, religion-neutral and "should not touch upon domains that could harm sentiments of people based on social and political choices".
The multiple choice question in the sociology exam asked "The unprecedented scale and spread of anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002 took place under which government?"
The options offered were: Congress, BJP, Democratic and Republican.
The riots broke out in the state in 2002 after the burning of two coaches of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station in which 59 Hindu 'karsevaks' were killed. The riots left over a thousand dead.
