The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an apex resource organisation set up by the Government of India to assist and advise the central and state governments on academic matters related to school education. The model textbooks published by the council for adoption by school systems across India have sparked controversies over the years. The organisation has been accused of reflecting the political views of the party in power in the Government of India. At present, it is under scrutiny for saffronising school textbooks due to aligning their content with Hindutva views and engaging in historical revisionism.
Background The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was established in 1961 by the Government of India by combining a number of existing organisations.Leading the Change: 50 years of NCERT, NCERT, 19 August 2011 It is an autonomous body in principle. However, it is government-funded and its director is appointed by the Ministry of Education (formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development). In practice, the NCERT has operated as a semi-autonomous organisation promoting a "state-sponsored" educational philosophy.
In the early 1960s, national integration and unifying the various communities of India became a major concern to the government. Education was seen as an important vehicle for the emotional integration of the nation. The Minister of Education M. C. Chagla was concerned that the textbooks in history should not recite myths but be secular and rational explanations of the past. A committee on history education was established with the membership of Tara Chand, Nilakanta Sastri, Mohammad Habib, Bisheshwar Prasad, B. P. Saxena and P. C. Gupta, which commissioned a number of history textbooks to be authored by a number of prominent historians. Romila Thapar's Ancient India for Class VI was published in 1966, and Medieval India for Class VII in 1967. A number of other books, such as Ram Sharan Sharma's Ancient India, Satish Chandra's Medieval India, Bipan Chandra's Modern India, and Arjun Dev's India and the World, were published in the 1970s.
The textbooks have faced political pressures since their inception. In 1969, a Parliamentary Consultative Committee wanted the textbook on Ancient India to state categorically that the "Aryans" were indigenous to India. But the demand was rejected by the editorial board as well as Thapar (as the author). Further critical reactions came from Hindu and Sikh religious organisations that their respective religions and religious leaders were not glorified. The Hindu Mahasabha and Arya Samaj claimed that the mention of beef-eating in ancient times went counter to the religious sentiments of the "Hindu nationality".
Such controversies continue to this day. They mostly centre around the charges of an attempted "saffronised" rewriting of Indian history — i.e., making lessons consonant with Hindutva. Allegations of historical revisionism with a Hindu nationalist agenda arose several times: under the Janata Party government from 1977 to 1980 and again under the Bharatiya Janata Party government from 1998 to 2004 and from 2014 to the present.
During the Janata Party government (1977–1979) Memorandum 1977 Three months into the Janata Party government headed by Morarji Desai, the Prime Minister was handed an anonymous memorandum by Nanaji Deshmukh, former Jana Sangh leader and general secretary of the Janata Party, which targeted the NCERT textbooks. The books criticised were Thapar's Medieval India and Bipan Chandra's Modern India, along with two other books, Freedom Struggle by Tripathi, De and Chandra, and Communalism and the Writing of Indian History by Thapar, Mukhia and Chandra. (Only the first two were NCERT textbooks.) The Prime Minister forwarded the memorandum to the Education Minister, suggesting that the books be withdrawn from circulation. In August 1977, R. S. Sharma's Ancient India was published, which was also targeted. The books were labelled to be "anti-Indian and anti-national" in content and "prejudicial to the study of history". The main issues seemed to be that they were not sufficiently critical of certain Muslim invaders during the medieval period and that they emphasised the role of leaders like Tilak and Aurobindo in the development of Hindu-Muslim antagonisms. The Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh launched a separate campaign against the books in its magazine Organiser.
The memorandum got leaked, and a public debate ensued, which ran till 1979. The authors of the books argued for the legitimacy of independent interpretations as long as they were based on reliable evidence. The most hotly contested issue in the 1977 to 1979 controversy was the depiction of Mughal-era (Muslim rule) India and the role of Islam in India. In November 1977, a committee of reputable historians was asked to examine the textbooks, which supported their continuance. Nonetheless, the government passed an act in July 1978, withdrawing R. S. Sharma's Ancient India from the syllabus of the Central Board of Secondary Education.
During the NDA government (1998–2004) Saffronisation 2002 to 2003 In 2002, under the NDA government spearheaded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the government made an attempt at changing the NCERT school textbooks through a new National Curriculum Framework. Liberal historians raised objections to the new curriculum, claiming "saffronisation" of education by allegedly raising the profile of Hindutva cultural norms, views and historical personalities in school textbooks. The BJP opined that their only goal was to overhaul the stagnant and saturated institutions like NCERT and free them from the alleged dynastic control and hegemony of the Indian National Congress and the Communists. Party members also opined that their goal was not to promote sectarianism, but to present a more accurate picture of Indian history and Indian culture (such as Vedic science), which they said was being downplayed by the left-wing ideologues.Know your value about NCERT controversy by K. R. Malkani, Hindustan Times, 29 November 2001, archived at hindustan.org.
The NCERT removed many parts of the old History textbooks without asking the authors. In Ancient Indian History, the NCERT deleted references to beef-eating and cattle sacrifice; a critical evaluation of the Puranic and the epic traditions in the light of archaeological and epigraphic testimony, with reference to the antiquity of Ayodhya and the origin of Krishna worship in Mathura; the explanation of Brahminical hostility towards Ashoka despite his policy of religious tolerance; the exploitative and ideological aspects of the caste system; and the entire early life of Vardhamana Mahavira. In Medieval Indian History, they removed the allegedly dishonourable discussion on the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur. In Modern Indian History, they deleted a one-line reference to the plundering activities of the Jat rulers of Bharatpur because it was thought noxious. The government claimed that these deletions were to respect the sentiments of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Dalits, and Muslims. However, there were no official explanations given, and many people believed it was a political decision to avoid mentioning uncomfortable facts about India's past.
In 2003, the NCERT launched new history textbooks for Classes VI, IX, and XI. They were authored by Professor Makkhan Lal for Class VI (unit II of India and the World: Social Sciences Book for Class VI) and for Class XI (Ancient India), and by Professor Hari Om for Class IX (Contemporary India). The syllabus was changed, and new chapters were added, like the "Evolution of Upanishadic Philosophy". The chapter on "Six Schools of Philosophy" was made a topic under the chapter "Jainism and Buddhism". The books gave more importance to Hindu culture and beliefs while giving very little space to Buddhism, Jainism, and actions of Muslim rulers. The new textbooks claimed to promote scientific temper, critical thinking, and authentic knowledge, but were criticised for reflecting a political and ideological agenda by carefully selecting what to include and what to remove.
Plagiarism 2003 NCERT also attracted plagiarism accusations in 2003, mainly from the Frontline Magazine published by The Hindu. Contemporary World History, a textbook for Class 12, was found to contain several sections lifted from World Civilizations – Their History and Their Culture, authored by Edward MacNall Burns, Philip Lee Ralph, Robert E. Lerner and Standish Meacham. The latter book, published by American publishers W.W. Norton & Company Inc., has a special Indian edition, which is the only authorised, complete and unabridged reprint of the latest American edition.
During the UPA government (2004–2014) De-saffronisation 2004 The NDA was defeated in the elections of 2004, and the new UPA government pledged to "de-saffronise" textbooks and curricula nationwide, and to restore the secular character of education. In March, the new NCERT textbooks were released, based on the texts used before the controversial 2002 updates. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, which oversaw this project, stated that it made only minor modifications to the books that predated the "saffronised" era. In Delhi, the Directorate of Education, in collaboration with the State Council of Educational Research and Training, prepared 47 new textbooks, and other state governments were expected to do likewise. In June 2004, a panel, composed of J. S. Grewal, Barun De and S. Settar, was constituted by the NCERT to review the new textbooks. This panel suggested that the textbooks that were being used in school syllabuses had poor content, were presented shoddily, and contained significant amounts of irrelevant information. The panel recommended to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister that the new books not be used until the defects could be resolved. This led the Delhi students to use textbooks that were used in school syllabuses from the pre-"saffronised" period.
Press reports indicated that the rush to "de-saffronise" school texts resulted in Urdu versions not being ready for the academic year, which began in April. The reports asserted that this failure hurt Urdu-speaking students by depriving them of needed textbooks. NCERT, however, denied these claims.
Sikhism 2006 In 2006, the NCERT decided to amend a paragraph in its Class 12 History textbook, Modern India, after Sikh organisations protested "objectionable" references to Guru Gobind Singh. The original paragraph stated that Emperor Bahadur Shah tried to "conciliate the rebellious Sikhs" by making peace with Guru Gobind Singh and offering him a high mansab. The revised version changed this to state that Sikhs raised a revolt under Guru Gobind Singh in the early 18th century and, after his death, under Banda Bahadur. The CBSE subsequently instructed schools to use the new paragraph and not to teach the original.
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