The panel has also put forth a proposal to incorporate the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) into the curriculum for all subjects.
New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) should consider replacing the name ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in textbooks and introduce ‘classical History’ instead of ancient History in the curriculum, a high-level panel for social sciences, constituted by NCERT has recommended. While the proposal was initially put forth several months ago, it has now received formal endorsement.
The committee’s chairman, C I Issac, elaborated on these adjustments, underlining their significance. The panel has also put forth a proposal to incorporate the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) into the curriculum for all subjects.
NCERT officials, however, said no decision has been taken yet on the panel’s recommendations. “The committee has unanimously recommended that the name ‘Bharat’ should be used in textbooks for students across classes. We have also recommended introducing ‘classical history’ instead of ‘ancient history’ in the textbooks,” Isaac told PTI.
He said the committee has also recommended highlighting “Hindu victories” in various battles in the textbooks. “Our failures are presently mentioned in the textbooks. But our victories over the Mughals and sultans are not,” said Isaac, who is also a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).
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 for these classes.
“The committee has also recommended the introduction of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the curriculum of all subjects,” Isaac said.
Some of the members of this committee are fields medallist Manjul Bhargava, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to PM Bibek Debroy, founding member of the RSS-affiliated Samskrita Bharati Chamu Krishna Shastry, philanthropist Sudha Murty, and singer Shankar Mahadeva.
Other members of the committee include ICHR Chairperson Raghuvendra Tanwar, Vandana Mishra, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Vasant Shinde, former vice-chancellor of the Deccan College Deemed University, and Mamta Yadav, who teaches sociology in a Haryana government school.