“Incorrect” portrayal of historical figures and freedom fighters as “offenders”; “unequal” mention of various periods and dynasties; “poor” representation of Sikh and Maratha history; and “underrepresentation” of women. These are among the key observations of a parliamentary panel that was constituted to review the content and design of NCERT (national council for education research and training) textbooks.
While calling for a review of the manner in which Indian freedom fighters are portrayed in school history texts, the panel has recommended that the books should be “free of biases” and suggested incorporating “ancient knowledge from vedas” in school curriculum.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports headed by BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe submitted its report titled “Reforms in content and design of school textbooks” in the upper house on Tuesday. The committee was set-up with a mandate to identify references to “un-historical facts” in texts; ensure proportionate references to all periods of Indian history; and highlight the role of great women achievers.
“The committee during its interaction observed that many of the historical figures and freedom fighters of the Indian freedom struggle have been portrayed in an incorrect manner as offenders. The committee was of the view that the wrong portrayal of our heroes of the freedom struggle should be corrected and they should be given due respect in our history textbooks,” the report stated.
The panel said that there is a need to discuss and review with leading historians the contribution and role of freedom fighters from various regions of the country. “This will result in a more balanced and judicious perception of the Indian freedom struggle. This will go a long way in giving due and proper space to the freedom fighters hitherto unknown and oblivious in the freedom movement,” the report added.
{{/usCountry}}The panel said that there is a need to discuss and review with leading historians the contribution and role of freedom fighters from various regions of the country. “This will result in a more balanced and judicious perception of the Indian freedom struggle. This will go a long way in giving due and proper space to the freedom fighters hitherto unknown and oblivious in the freedom movement,” the report added.
{{/usCountry}}The history textbooks of NCERT, the panel observed, do not give adequate coverage to some of the Indian empires such as those of Vikramaditya, Cholas, Chalukyas, Vijayanagar, Gondwana, Travancore and the Ahoms.
The committee also noted that many notable women and their contributions too have not found adequate mention in NCERT textbooks. “The textbooks should have greater portrayal of women in new and emerging professions, as role models with a focus on their contributions and pathway of achieving the same. This will help in instilling self-esteem and self confidence among all, particularly girls,” it said in the report.
The panel also observed “poor” representation of Sikh and Maratha history, “lack of uniformity” in the coverage of the development of different Indian regional languages, such as Punjabi and Tamil, and of their scripts in the history textbooks. The house panel further pointed out the absence of an internal mechanism to verify mistakes in the NCERT textbooks.
In its recommendations, the committee said that while ensuring “balance and diversity in views”, the textbooks should be free of biases. “The textbooks should instill constitutional values, and should promote national integrity and unity.”
The panel also recommended that NCERT and SCERTs (the state councils) must publish all textbooks in all Eighth Schedule languages of the Constitution of India, besides Hindi and English. It further suggested that the history textbooks should be regularly updated. The Eight Schedule lists 22 recognized languages.
The report has been prepared after wider consultation with stakeholders including the Union Ministry of Education, CBSE, NCERT, and the Maharashtra SCERT. Several organisations, including three three RSS-affiliated ones, Bhartiya Sikshan Mandal, Siksha Sanskriti Uthan Nyas and Vidya Bharti, also deposed before the panel. The committee also received over 20,000 public recommendations via emails. Interestingly, a class 9 student from Gurugram was also given an opportunity to present his views before the committee.
During its deposition, NCERT informed the panel that it was in the process of constituting a panel to “immediately analyze and address some of the issues with regard to un-historical facts and distortions about our national heroes as well as events if any raised by different stakeholders”.
The report has come at a time when the process of the formation of the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is under process to revise the existing NCERT textbooks, which are taught in many schools including all affiliated to the central Board of Secondary Education, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The Indian History Congress (IHC), an organization of academicians and historians having more than 35,000 members, in a written submission to the committee said that the argument about the presentation of ‘unhistorical facts’ is completely “incorrect”.
“Adequate discussion of over 120 national heroes is available in the existing textbooks and there is no deliberate neglect that may be imputed. There is ample representation of different periods of history and historical developments within the broad chronological periods of ancient, medieval and modern history. This proportionate discussion is in terms of political and socio-economic developments, the emergence and flourishing of religious ideas and institutions, of civilizational achievements in the fields of art, science and technology, as well as the social and cultural movements in different periods of Indian history. And lastly, there are several references to great women who contributed to different fields - political, religious and social,” it said.