NCERT Revises Textbooks, Drops References to Babri Masjid and Gujarat Riots

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 6th April. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has recently made revisions to its textbooks, dropping mentions of the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, the killing of Muslims in Gujarat riots, and Hindutva. Additionally, the reference to Manipur’s merger with India has been tweaked.

While NCERT did not provide a specific reason for the changes, officials stated that these revisions are part of the regular updating process and are not related to the development of new books under the New Curriculum Framework (NCF). The modifications have been made in the Political Science textbooks for classes 11 and 12, among others.

According to a document outlining the changes by the NCERT’s curriculum drafting committee, references to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement have been adjusted to reflect the latest political developments.

For example, in the chapter on Secularism in the class 11 textbook, the previous version mentioned, “More than 1,000 persons, mostly Muslims, were massacred during the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in 2002.” This has been changed to “More than 1,000 persons were killed during the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in 2002.” The rationale behind this change is that in any riot, people from all communities suffer, not just one.

Regarding Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the textbook now states that it is Indian territory under illegal occupation by Pakistan, referred to as Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK). The rationale behind this alteration is to align with the current position of the Indian government on Jammu and Kashmir.

On Manipur, the revised version now states that the Government of India persuaded the Maharaja to sign a Merger Agreement in September 1949, rather than pressurizing him. References to the Ayodhya demolition have been removed from chapter 8.

Questions in the textbooks have also been modified, such as changing “What is the legacy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and the Ayodhya demolition for the nature of political mobilisation?” to “What is the legacy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement?” References to the Babri Masjid and Hindutva politics have been eliminated.

Overall, the changes aim to reflect the latest political landscape and align with the current government’s stance on various issues. The NCERT has informed CBSE schools that new textbooks have been developed for some classes, while others remain unchanged under the NCF.