India's top education body amends class 12 textbook, removes references to 'Babri Masjid'
NCERT revises class 12 political science textbook
India's National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has amended the class 12 Political Science textbook, as references to 'Babri Masjid' have been removed from the new books now available in the market. The new edition refers to it as a "three-domed structure", which was demolished by a mob on December 6, 1992. The site in Ayodhya now hosts the grand Ram Mandir inaugurated earlier this year. In the new addition, the chapter on the Ayodhya dispute between Hindus and Muslims has been condensed from four pages to two.
References to Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) rath yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya, communal riots in the aftermath of the demolition of Babri Masjid, President’s rule in BJP-ruled states; and the BJP’s expression of “regret over the happenings at Ayodhya” have also been omitted.
The new edition majorly highlights the 2019 ruling of the Supreme Court that paved the way for the resolution of the conflict and transfer of the disputed site to Hindus.
Is NCERT saffronising school textbooks?
The recent changes have fueled rumours that the autonomous body is working to saffronise the school textbooks, an allegation that the NCERT director has vehemently disputed.
NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani has clarified that all changes have been made based on “evidences and facts” and such revision was a “global practice” and “in interest of education”.
In an interview with news agency PTI, Saklani said, “Why should we teach students about riots?”. The purpose of the textbook was not to “create violent, depressed citizens”, he said. The NCERT official added that the history was taught in schools to give out facts, and not to make it a “battleground”.
“Hatred, violence are not the subjects of teaching in school,” he told PTI, adding that they “shouldn’t be focus of textbooks.”
He stressed that it needs to be removed from textbooks if it becomes irrelevant. He also claimed that the recent changes were not dictated by him but by a panel of subject experts.
(With inputs from agencies)