My son and I had been co-learners of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks for 12 long years. The journey was from April 2003 to March 2015. Many a time, I thought to convey my heartfelt thanks to the advisers for the NCERT textbooks, especially for the social science books for speaking truth to power.
Therefore, I feel sad when I read the reports of pruning of the NCERT textbooks. Chapters on L K Advani’s 1990 Rath Yatra and the 2002 Gujarat riots were deleted. Chapters on Mughal kings and the reference to the force behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi have also been removed. The Class XII Political Science textbook refers to the Babri Masjid only as a ‘three-domed structure’ built at the birthplace of Lord Ram.
When, as a reader of the book, I feel annoyed for such uncalled for surgery on textbooks, it can be understood how much pain the advisors of the books must have been undergoing. The pain led the chief advisers for the NCERT textbooks, political analysts Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar to request the NCERT chief to remove their names from the textbooks.
They disagreed with the changes made under their advisory roles and threatened legal action if their names were not removed.
Hiding the truth is against our national motto. The national motto of India is Satyameva Jayate (truth alone triumphs). This mantra from Mundaka Upanishad is inscribed at the base of the Lion Capital of Ashoka. It is an integral part of the Indian national emblem. This emblem along with the words ‘Satyameva Jayate’ is a part of all Indian currency and national documents.
School textbooks should inspire critical thinking. It is dangerous for the future citizens of our country if ideological propaganda replaces historical facts. The logic to cut short textbooks to give not just Covid period specific, but permanent relief to students does not hold water for two reasons. First, this has distorted history. Second, this logic sounds like the argument used by the diamond king in Satyajit Ray’s film, Hirak Rajar Deshe (Kingdom of Diamonds), “There is no limit to knowledge/ so it is meaningless to try to know.”
Initially, I did not bother about the surgery on school textbooks as I thought that it was a Covid-19 specific decision to give relief to students as they could not physically attend school. Interestingly, a series of surgeries on the NCERT textbooks have been taking place after the Covid period instead of bringing back the deleted chapters.
Similarly, the Railway Ministry had me fooled when it withdrew concessions in train fares for senior citizens after a countrywide lockdown was announced due to Covid-19 on March 20, 2020. Previously, the Railways used to offer 50 per cent concession to female and 40 per cent to male senior citizen passengers on train fares. I thought the decision was taken to discourage senior citizens from travelling during the Covid period. But senior citizens have not got back the concessions they used to get in train fares even after the Covid period.
Now, let us get back to the NCERT surgery and the argument that textbooks, even for the Class XII students, should be free from violence and hatred.
The Holocaust is an extreme example of hate and violence. Students are being taught about the Holocaust all over the world not to spread violence and hatred but to use the knowledge as an antidote to violence and hatred. This is absolutely necessary to stop a repeat of the tragedy.