Editorial: Distorting the past

The recent revision on NCERT textbooks is deeply problematic and smacks of narrow-mindedness

Distorting history to suit its political agenda has been a defining feature of the BJP’s strategy. School textbooks become the easy targets for such ideological propaganda. Selective deletion or tweaking of historical events and giving a biased perspective on important phases in the country’s history have been the preferred template of the NDA government while making changes in the school curriculum. The recent revision of the NCERT textbooks is bound to evoke outrage because it reflects the bizarre logic of whitewashing contemporary events, skipping uncomfortable moments in India’s history and ignoring the incidents of violence and protest. For instance, the revised Political Science textbooks for Class 12 do not mention the Babri Masjid but refer to it as a ‘three-domed structure’. Many sections have also been deleted from the book. These include BJP’s ‘rath yatra’ from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya; the role of kar sevaks; communal violence in the wake of the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the President’s rule in BJP-ruled States. A two-page table detailing the achievements of Mughal emperors such as Humayun, Shah Jahan, Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb has also been removed. The new Political Science textbook of Class 11 now says that political parties ‘give priority to the interests of a minority group’ with an eye on ‘vote bank politics’, which leads to ‘minority appeasement’. Even the changes that take note of new research on the Indus Valley Civilisation seem to emphasise a deeply contested and politically loaded narrative that harps on continuity between the Harappan and Rig Vedic epochs.

Such tweaks in the textbooks violate the fundamental premise of education, which is to inculcate critical thinking. Denying essential reading material is a disservice to the student community. Periodic reviewing of the learning material to make it more contemporary is an acceptable practice everywhere. However, the way the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is going about the exercise is deeply problematic and smacks of narrow-mindedness. During the last ten years of the NDA rule, there has been strong criticism, much of it is justifiable, over saffronisation of education and attempts to whitewash contemporary events. This must be resisted by academicians, students, civil society activists and opposition parties. Though the NCERT has denied the accusations of saffronisation of school curricula, it is far from convincing. The intent behind making the changes must remain open to scrutiny. It is a bizarre argument that teaching about riots can instigate violence. The latest revisions go against the National Education Policy’s ideologically agnostic approach to education reform. Some of the changes described as “minor editing” — the deletion of the reference to the poverty and powerlessness of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in the Class XII Sociology textbook, for instance — seem to align with a political agenda of playing up the notion of a cohesive Hindu society.

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