One news item that caught my attention is the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The news is “ Noted Academicians Yogendra Yadav and Suhal Palshikar, former Chief Advisors for political sciences textbooks for class 9 to 12 have threatened NCERT with legal action if it fails to delete their names from the textbooks.
This issue is about a year old when 33 academicians wrote to NCERT after the revised edition of political science books for classes 9 to 12 (originally published in 2006-07) were released in 2023. In their letter, they expressed their growing concern and alarm over the unilateral attempts by NCERT to modify and revise the textbooks that scholars across the country collaboratively wrote. Since there are several substantive revisions of the original texts, making them different books, we find it difficult to claim that these textbooks were authored by us.” The authors urged the NCERT to remove their names from textbook development committee (TDC), responsible for the reprinting of the political science textbooks.
Now why this is happening? For this you have to go back a little. NDA government took over the rein of the country in 2014 with clear majority and backing of the people. They declared the some of the school textbooks are not depicting history correctly, and textbooks are idolizing Mughal empires and British Raj, and there is less about Indians, especially Hindu kingdoms. The struggle for India’s independence was written from the British and Congress’s viewpoints. And they announced these false and one sided description of history should be corrected.
Now what changes happened in the revised textbooks of political sciences:
The revised class 12 political science textbook, which no longer mentions the Babri Masjid, instead it has been referred as ‘three-domed structure’. Other deletions include references to the BJP’s Rath Yatra, the role of Kar sevaks, communal violence, following the Babri Masjid demolition, the President’s rule in BJP-ruled states, and BJP’s expression of regret over Ayodhaya events. Changes in class 12 history book also include certain portions on Mahatma Gandhi and how his pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity “provoked Hindu extremists” and ban on Rshtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Other than this, portions from class 11 Sociology textbook that talked about the 2002 Gujarat riots were also removed.
Now if the present government have deleted these from textbooks, then I would point out that in the earlier text books it was never mentioned about the role of Congress in opening the locks of Babri Masjid in mid 1980s, what happened in late 1940s when all of sudden gates of Babri Masjid were locked, when idols of RamLalla appeared. Similarly there are many other information that was not there in earlier textbooks. In fact, people have realized now that Gandhi’s love for Muslims really provoked Hindus. And in the later years after independence Congress’s love for the minority community became the issues with many Hindu organizations. The removal of chapter on Gujarat riot, the problem with this issue is because without the mention of Godhra train burning happening, which was the cause of the riots, was presenting a one side story.
Coming back to the present issue related to Yogendra Yadav and others- as per the statement issued by NCERT “TDC were constituted during 2005-08 to help in the development of textbooks in various subjects for all classes have ended since the date of their first publication. However, NCERT acknowledges their academic contribution and only because of this, for the sake of record, publishes name of all TDC members in each of its textbooks”.
The main reason behind, Yogendra Yadav and others who now want to be disassociated with these textbooks is just because they are against the ideology and policies propagated by the present government
Friends, are you aware that after the partition happened based on two nation theory, surprisingly for first 20 years all the Education Ministers at the centre were Muslims, and they did Islamilisation of our education system, and all our history and political sciences text books were based on that ideology. Secondly as initially Indian government followed the socialistic pattern propagated by Communists, and communist philosophy also entered our text books. And this kept on happening for more than six decades.
In my opinion the allegation by Yogendra Yadav and others the changes in the textbooks are politically biased holds no good, as till date all the textbooks printed earlier were highly biased with viewpoints of the Congress and Communists ideologies, and which means that they were also politically biased. These academician never raised their voices then. Now when government with different ideology is revising the text book, why they are making noises?
So in the end, if NDA government is trying to correct the history and political sciences textbooks, there is nothing wrong if they present the facts correctly.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
18th June 2024