NCERT adds abrogation of Article 370, revises definition of Left in textbooks
NCERT said the revised and updated content will be reflected in the textbooks to be released this month for the academic year 2024-25
References to abrogation of Article 370, replacing the term “Azad Pakistan” with “Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK)”, revising a paragraph defining the Left as those who prefer “state regulation over free competition”, and references to Manipur are among several changes made by the NCERT in its Social Science textbooks for the academic year 2024-25.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)’s revised and updated content will be reflected in the textbooks to be released this month. The books will be used by over 40 million students across the country.
According to the document, in Chapter 7 of the Political Science textbook of Class 12 (Politics in India since Independence), the Council has revised a paragraph to include a reference to abrogation of Article 370.
The earlier paragraph said, “While most of the states have equal powers, there are special provisions for some states like J&K and the states in the North-East”. The revised version adds one line in the end of the paragraph saying, “However, Article 370 that contains special provisions for J&K, was abrogated in August 2019.”
In the same chapter, the Council has also replaced “Azad Pakistan” with “Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK)” in a paragraph on the border dispute between India and Pakistan. The existing version says, “India claims that this area is under illegal occupation. Pakistan describes this area as ‘Azad Pakistan”.
However, the changed version says that “it is the Indian territory which is under illegal occupation of Pakistan called as Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).”
“The change, which has been introduced is in complete concurrence with the latest position of the Govt of India in regard to Jammu and Kashmir,” the Council said.
In the first chapter of the same book, the NCERT has replaced a paragraph with a reference to Manipur. The existing version says as follows: “The Government of India succeeded in pressurising the Maharaja into signing a Merger Agreement in September 1949, without consulting the popularly elected Legislative Assembly of Manipur. This caused a lot of anger and resentment.”
While the revised version says, “The Government of India succeeded in persuading the Maharaja into signing a Merger Agreement in September 1949.”
“Language has been changed,” NCERT said, explaining the change.
In Chapter 3 of the textbook, the Council revised the definition of the Left in a box item. The existing version says, “Left often refers to those who are in favour of the poor, downtrodden sections and support government policies for the benefit of these sections”.
Whereas, the revised version says, “Left often refers to those who are in favour of state control of the economy and prefers state regulation over free competition.”
“Both left and right are defined at conceptual and operational level,” the NCERT said.
In Class 10 Social Science textbook named ‘Democratic Politics’, the Council has dropped the content related to the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) from its Chapter 4. It, however, added references to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the National People’s Party (NPP).
Explaining the change, the Council said, “The Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are no longer national parties, thus, content related to them are dropped. It is replaced with content on the Aam Aadmi Party and the National People’s Party who were declared national parties by the Election Commission of India in 2023.”
While NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani did not respond to to calls and text messages for a comment, a senior official at the Council said, “The changes will reflect in the textbooks that will be published this year and they can be uploaded any day now on the official website of the NCERT.”