NCERT Doesn’t Differentiate Between India And Bharat: Education Ministry Tells Parliament

Minister of State (MoS) for Education, Annapurna Devi, informed the Rajya Sabha that the Constitution of India recognises both Bharat as well as India, as the official names of the country.

The Union Education Ministry has said that the NCERT (National Council for Educational Research and Training) does not differentiate between India and Bharat, and duly acknowledges the spirit as enshrined in the Constitution that recognises both the names. Union Minister of State (MoS) for Education Annapurna Devi shared the above information in the Rajya Sabha in a written response to a question from CPI(M) member Elamaram Kareem regarding an NCERT panel's recommendation to replace the country's name India with Bharat in school textbooks. 

In her response, the MoS underlined that the Article 1 of the Constitution of India states that 'India', that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States'. She further said that both India as well as Bharat are recognised as the official names of the country by the constitution, which can be used interchangeably. Acknowledging the spirit as enshrined in our constitution, the NCERT doesn’t differentiate between the two names, news agency PTI further reported the minister as saying. 

She further stated that moving out of the colonial mindset slowly, the country is embracing the usage of words in 'Bharatiya Bhasha' (Indian languages). The NCERT which is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Ministry of Education tasked with framing the curriculum of school textbooks will also try its best in promoting the same, the minister was further reported as saying. 

The NCERT constituted a high-level committee for social sciences in October this year to look into and revise the school curriculum. The committee recommended replacing the name India with ‘Bharat,’ in all school textbooks for all classes. However, the NCERT has said that it is yet to take a call on the recommendation. 

Currently, the NCERT is revising the school curriculum for all classes in accordance with the provisions chalked out in the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020). The council recently constituted a 19-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) to finalise the curriculum, textbooks and learning material for these classes.

The debate on replacing the name India with Bharat further garnered attention after the Union government officially used the name ‘Bharat’ on the G20 invites sent to international delegates in the name of the President of Bharat instead of President of India. Later, PM Modi’s nameplate also bore the name Bharat during the summit in New Delhi. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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