There is going to be a major change in the NCERT books. The proposal by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) panel to print the next set of books with ‘Bharat’ instead of ‘India’ has been unanimously accepted by its members. According to Professor CI Isaac, chairman of the high-level committee, the name India will be changed to Bharat in the next set of NCERT books. This proposal was made a few months ago, and now it has been accepted.
The NCERT committee has also recommended giving more importance to “victory of Hindu kings” in textbooks. It has also recommended the inclusion of ‘Classical History’ in place of ‘Ancient History’ in textbooks. CI Isaac said the committee also suggested reducing the focus on “Hindu defeats” in the curriculum.
The committee recommended the inclusion of ‘Classical History’ in place of ‘Ancient History’ in the textbooks. History will no longer be divided into ancient, medieval and modern, as this shows that India is an old nation and unaware of British imperialism.
According to the report, the introduction of Indian Knowledge System in the curriculum of all subjects is also a part of this new change.
Now a statement has been issued by NCERT on this matter. On media reports of changing the name of India to Bharat in all NCERT textbooks, NCERT says that since the development of new curriculum and textbooks is in process and for that purpose various curriculum area groups of domain experts are being notified by NCERT .
No decision has been taken yet on the recommendations – NCERT
NCERT officials, however, said no decision has been taken yet on the committee’s recommendations. Isaac said, “The committee has unanimously recommended the use of the word ‘India’ in textbooks of all classes. We have also recommended teaching ‘Classical History’ in place of ‘Ancient History’.” He said the committee has asked for emphasis on “Hindu victory stories” in various conflicts in textbooks. “Our failures are mentioned in the textbooks,” Isaac said. But not of our victories over the Mughals and Sultans.”
Formation of 19 member NSTC committee
NCERT is revising the curriculum of school textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The council had recently constituted a 19-member National Curriculum and Teaching Material Committee (NSTC) to finalize the curriculum, textbooks and teaching materials for these classes. “The committee has also recommended inclusion of Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the curriculum of all subjects,” Isaac said.
Who are the members included in the committee?
Other members of the committee include ICHR chairman Raghuvendra Tanwar, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor Vandana Mishra, former Deccan College Deemed University vice-chancellor Vasant Shinde and Mamta Yadav, who teaches sociology in a government school in Haryana.
