Textbooks’ Revisions Not Done At The Behest Of Anyone: NCERT Chief Saklani

NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani has said the revisions in NCERT textbooks are not huge and are done on the basis of recommendations from an expert education committee.

Textbooks’ Revisions Not Done At The Behest Of Anyone: NCERT Chief Saklani (Representational Image)

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In the wake of the ongoing uproar following the recent revisions in NCERT textbooks, the NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani has said that the ‘changes have not been made to please or offend anyone,” news agency IANS reported. He was further reported as saying that the NCERT is planning to introduce new textbooks for all classes, following the guidelines of the National Education Policy (NEP). 

The NCERT Director further said that the revisions in NCERT textbooks have not been done at the behest of anyone, rather, the move is aimed at easing the study load of students by an effort to minimize the syllabus. The recommendations to revamp the NCERT textbooks came from a special committee of education experts from all over the country. Moreover, the revisions are not huge, they are minimal and were introduced last year itself. 

Notably, the NCERT has been in talks recently following the revision in NCERT textbooks. The NCERT has recently dropped some texts on Mughal History, Gandhi, Hindu-Muslim Unity, and ‘RSS Ban,’ from class 12 textbooks. 

The omission of texts has created a huge uproar and debate amongst the opposition parties. The Congress has charged the central government with distorting history and “whitewashing with a vengeance.” The Opposition party slammed the BJP-RSS, saying that those who try to re-write history are consigned to the “dustbin of history”.

Tagging a media report on April 5, 2023, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter that “This reveals the ruling regime's TRUE mindset. After all, the RSS had not only attacked Gandhi but had been bitterly opposed to Dr. Ambedkar as well.”

CPI Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has written to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over "drastic changes" made to NCERT textbooks as part of "rationalising” exercise and urged him to take necessary action.