Mistakes rectified, says NCERT

The NCERT said it realised the mistake in branding some freedom fighters as “militants” in its history textbooks as it dropped some 20 objectionable passages, reports Harish V Nair.

The NCERT on Friday informed the Delhi High Court that it had realised its mistake in branding some freedom fighters as “militants” in its history textbooks. It said it had dropped 20 objectionable passages that carried misleading information on national leaders and some communities.

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The apex agency for finalising contents of schoolbooks, the NCERT said the modified version of history books would be available in all schools from the academic year 2008-2009.

The objectionable passages included some references to Sikh religious leader Guru Govind Singh, Aryabhatt and Mughal Emperor Akbar. The books also branded Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bankim Chandra and Lala Lajpat Rai as “militants”.

Appearing for the NCERT, counsel Rohit K Singh told the Division Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur that the new curriculum would be implemented from April this year. “The objectionable lessons will not appear in the textbooks from April 1 this year,” Singh said. After recording the counsel’s statement, the Bench disposed off a PIL filed by a lawyer Rakesh Mahajan but asked the NCERT to ensure that such errors were not repeated. “Students should not be taught lessons containing objectionable passages about leaders and communities,” the Bench said.