New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has approved the recommendation of a high-level committee for social sciences to replace the name ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in textbooks and introduce ‘classical History’ instead of ancient History in the curriculum.
Committee’s chairperson CI Issac said the unanimous recommendation given by the seven-member committee of the has found mention in its final position paper on social sciences, which is a key prescriptive document for laying down the foundation for the development of new NCERT textbooks.
The Article 1(1) of the Constitution already states “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”.
Bharat is an age-old name. The use of the name Bharat finds its mention in ancient texts such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old, said Issac.
“The term India started being used commonly only after the establishment of the East India Company and the battle of Plassey in 1757,” he said. Therefore, the committee has unanimously recommended that the name ‘Bharat’ should be used in textbooks for students across classes, said Issac.
“The name Bharat finds mention in the Vishnu Purana. Kalidasa used the name Bharat. It is an age-old name. The name India came much later with the invasion of Turks, Afghans and Greeks,” he said.
“They identified Bharat on the basis of the Sindhu river. The invaders found it convenient. I insisted that only the name Bharat be used in textbooks till 12th standard. The other members accepted and it became the committee’s unanimous view,” Issac added.
Another aspect that the committee highlighted, said Issac, is that the prevailing curriculum and textbooks put too much emphasis on “Hindu defeats in battles”.
“In contrast, Hindu victories are not mentioned. Why do our textbooks not teach our students that Muhammed Ghori was killed by Indian tribal people while he was returning after plundering India? Why is the Battle of Colachel (Kingdom of Travancore vs Dutch East India Company) missing from our textbooks? Why is the period of Emergency not taught in detail?” Issac said.
