Key Deletions From NCERT Textbooks In School Books Sparks Row

A part of NCERT's "syllabus rationalisation" project for 2023-24

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), The main executive branch, has announced its intention to remove some important chapters and passages from its history and political science syllabus as part of its "syllabus rationalisation" project for 2023-24. The opposition has accused the Center of "whitewashing" and "distorting" history as a result of the omissions, which have sparked a political uproar. 

What is NCERT?

To aid in the qualitative enhancement of school education in India, the government established the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The NCERT is in charge of creating and disseminating NCERT textbooks in order to create a system of universal education. In order to assist students with their studies, it also creates teaching aids and multimedia digital resources. Currently, CBSE and several state boards use the official textbooks for Classes 1 through 12 produced by NCERT as a part of their academic curricula. Also, it is advised to consult the NCERT Book for a variety of competitive exams, including IIT, NEET, UPSC, etc. This is as a result of the textbook's content being prepared in a straightforward and clear manner. One might start at the very beginning and work their way up by studying from these books.

Chapters That are Deleted from NCERT

The Class 12 history textbook "Themes of Indian History-Part 2" has been updated to remove the chapters on "Kings and Chronicles; the Courts (C. 16th and 17th centuries). Similar to this, NCERT will also take some passages and poems out of the Hindi textbooks. The NCERT has updated the Class 12 Civics textbook in addition to the History and Hindi textbooks. Also, NCERT has eliminated some passages from the political science textbooks for class 12 that discussed the brief ban that the then-government imposed on the RSS following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. Moreover, passages discussing how Gandhi's efforts to unite Muslims and Hindus sparked Hindu radicals have been deleted. The book no longer contains the chapters "The Cold War Era" and "American Hegemony in Foreign Politics." Moreover, the chapters "Rise of Popular Movements" and "Period of One Party Domination" from the Class 12 textbook "Indian Politics after Independence" have been removed. Textbooks for classes 10 and 11 have also undergone revisions. Chapters on democracy and diversity, popular struggles and movements, and democratic difficulties have been dropped from the Class 10 "Democratic Politics-2" textbook. The class 11 text "Themes in Global History" no longer includes chapters on "Central Islamic Countries," "Clash of Cultures," and "Industrial Revolution." Also, the sociology textbook for Class 11 has eliminated any references to the Gujarat riots.

NCERT’s Clarification

In 2022, the NCERT already reorganised the curriculum in accordance with the committee's suggestions.There is a claim that the publishing authority is continuing modifying specific sections of the syllabus for Classes 6 to 12 using Covid as a justification, despite the fact that the NCERT rationalised the curriculum during the coronavirus pandemic to lessen the load on students. The curricula and syllabi, however, have not altered; just the content of the books has. Unfortunately, the NCERT has not provided any clarity regarding the several texts that were unexpectedly removed from the textbooks. The removal of chapters on the Mughals from the Class 12 history textbook, which is used in CBSE and UP board schools, created a similar outcry.

The Way Forward for Modification on NCERT

To argue against ever making modifications to textbooks would be flimsy. It is impossible since new study may eventually turn up intriguing sources or interpretations of historical events, institutions, and rulers and common people. It cannot be asserted, as some have, that ideological orientation will determine what should be taught as history; these must instead be supported by thorough study. In that sense, it appears that the justifications stated for the deletion of chapters from history textbooks are, at best, feeble, and, at worst, indefensible, as they seem to target particular eras of Indian history while simultaneously demonstrating a lack of understanding of changes in global history. It's nothing new because this has happened before. In 1998-1999, during the first and second NDA (National Democratic Alliance) administrations, this particular effort was unveiled. The one restriction is that while you can change history, you cannot take it back. The reality always surfaces. History attests to the reality that attempts to rewrite history have resulted in those individuals being sent to history's trash can.