Amid the raging controversy over the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) allegedly removing certain portions on Mughal courts from class 12 history textbooks, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Wednesday took a swipe at the BJP government.
Taking to Twitter, Sibal remarked that the decision was in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Bharat’, where ‘modern Indian history’ begins from 2014. The BJP government came to power at the Centre in 2014.
Referring to reports that some parts of the 2002 Gujarat riots and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were excluded from the revised editions, the former Congress leader wrote, "NCERT textbooks: Effaced:
1) Gandhi's pursuit of Hindu Muslim unity 2) Banning of RSS 3) All references to Gujarat riots 4) Protests that turned into social movements in contemporary India.
Consistent with Modi ji's Bharat modern Indian history should start from 2014!"
Also read: Govt deleting Mughal history, China erasing present: Owaisi's jab
{{/usCountry}}Also read: Govt deleting Mughal history, China erasing present: Owaisi's jab
{{/usCountry}}However, NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani on Tuesday told news agency ANI reports on the chapters on Mughals being dropped were false. “It's a lie. (Chapters on) Mughals have not been dropped. There was a rationalisation process last year because due to COVID, there was pressure on students everywhere,” he said.
Calling it a transition phase under National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which is under the process of implementation, he said that the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for school education will be finalised soon. “Textbooks will be printed in 2024 as per NEP. We have not dropped anything right now,” Saklani asserted.
Adding that children’s knowledge will not be affected by removing the ‘unnecessary burden’, the NCERT chief said an expert committee had recommended the dropping of the chapter.
It was earlier reported that the state and CBSE board schools in Uttar Pradesh will incorporate the new textbooks into the current academic session.
HT had earlier reported that the NCERT has removed topics related to ‘Kings and Chronicles: The Mughal courts’ from the history book ‘Themes of Indian History-Part II’ and ‘Rise of popular movements’, ‘Era of one-party dominance’ from the politics textbook ‘Politics in Indian since Independence’ taught in class 12.