The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has revised its Class 12 political science textbook, omitting references to contentious topics such as the Babri Masjid demolition, Ram Janambhoomi, the politics of Hindutva, the 2002 Gujarat riots, and minority concerns, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
The revised political science textbook is the latest in a series of modifications and adjustments to textbooks that cover controversial subjects. These changes are part of NCERT’s ongoing rationalisation of school textbooks for the 2024-25 academic year, a process recently communicated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
Notable revisions have been made in Chapter 8 – “Recent Developments in Indian Politics” of the textbook “Politics in India since Independence”. The Ayodhya agitation, including the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, has been given minimal attention. The original question, “What is the legacy of the Ram Janambhoomi movement and the Ayodhya demolition for the nature of political mobilisation?” has been rephrased to “What is the legacy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement?” NCERT’s rationale for this change was to align the questions with internal revisions made to the chapter.
Furthermore, this chapter has been edited to exclude any mention of the Babri Masjid and the politics of Hindutva. In Chapter 5, titled ‘Democratic Rights’, a reference to the Gujarat riots has been removed from the caption to a news collage.
This recent revision is part of a broader series of changes to NCERT textbooks for Class 12. Earlier this week, reports surfaced of NCERT revising the history textbook for Class 12 students, with a particular focus on the emergence and decline of the Harappan civilisation. The council has added three new paragraphs addressing the current DNA inquiry in Rakhigarhi in the chapter titled “Bricks, Beads, and Bones – The Harappan Civilisation,” within the ‘Themes in India History Part-I’ textbook.
NCERT’s rationalisation process, which led to textbook reprints in 2022-23, resulted in the omission of sections on figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, the RSS, Nathuram Godse, and certain historical events from the reprinted political science, history, and sociology textbooks for Classes 11 and 12. These changes reflect the ongoing efforts to streamline educational content and ensure its relevance in contemporary contexts.
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