India vs Bharat: NCERT should consult State governments before making changes in textbooks, say experts

The "India Vs Bharat" needs to be elaborately discussed and NCERT should also take the opinion of the state governments before taking a final call on it, opined educational experts and lawmakers on Thursday.

New Delhi: A day after the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) panel suggested that “India” should be replaced with “Bharat” in the school textbooks for all classes and introduction of “classical history” instead of “ancient history” in the curriculum, educational experts and lawmakers on Thursday recommended that the issue needs to be elaborately discussed and NCERT should also take the opinion of the state governments before taking a final call.

“In Article 2 of the Constitution, it is written that India is Bharat. Now, the government thinks that the word India is a Gulami (slavery) word. So, they want to change it. We are bound to accept the guidelines of NCERT and the Central government,” said Justice Narendra Kumar Jain, chairman of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions to ETV Bharat.

However, the State governments can also give their suggestions, he said. “Up to senior secondary, the education chapter comes under the purview of State governments, higher education comes under the Central government and all are bound to accept it. It’s the State governments, which can raise their objections,” said Jain.

When asked whether such changes can bring any major development in India's educational scenario, Jain said that it is up to the NCERT to bring changes in the school curriculum whenever required. A high-level committee for social sciences, constituted by NCERT to revise the school curriculum, has recommended replacing the name “India” with “Bharat” in the textbooks, introducing “classical history” instead of “ancient history” in the curriculum, and including the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the syllabus for all subjects.

Rajya Sabha MP representing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) from Telangana, K Keshava Rao, said that classical history has its own definition and ancient is time-bound. “I am not opposing it, let the issue be discussed before it gets a final shape. But you (authority) can’t bring a sudden change,” Rao said.

As far as “India” is concerned, Rao reiterated that in the Indian Constitution, it is specifically mentioned that “India” is “Bharat”. Former MP in the Rajya Sabha and CPI national general secretary, D Raja, vehemently opposed the move and criticised the NCERT for “working on the behest of the Central government.”

“They have no other issues. They want to divert the attention of the people. People are asking about unemployment, price rise, and other critical issues. There is a constitution and the constitution made it very clear that India is Bharat Union of States. Now we want to know whether NCERT goes by the Constitution we have today or whether they have changed their constitution,” said Raja.

The NCERT, however, said that no decision has been taken yet on the panel’s recommendations. The NCERT is revising the curriculum of the school textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The Council recently constituted a 19-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) to finalise the curriculum, textbooks and learning material.