Former NCERT advisors request deletion of their names from textbooks

The arbitrary "rationalization" drive undertaken by the NCERT has been embarrassing for Suhas Palshikar and Yogendra Yadav, former Chief Advisors for the original Political Science books for Classes IX to XII as they deem that the exercise has "mutilated" the books and rendered them "academically dysfunctional", as per PTI reports.

They have also requested the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to drop their names as Chief Advisors from all Political Science textbooks.

According to a letter sent to NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani, the educators have found no justification for this exercise. They have cited reasons of no pedagogic rationale and have alleged that these major deletions have left large gaps where attempts haven't been made to fill them. They also alleged that they were never consulted before such steps were taken.

Palshikar, an academician and political scientist, and Yadav, a political scientist and Swaraj India leader, were Chief Advisors for the Political Science books for Classes IX to XII originally published in 2006-07 based on the 2005 version of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). Their names are mentioned in a "letter to students" and the list of textbook development teams at the beginning of each book.

"Textbooks cannot and should not be shaped in this blatantly partisan manner and should not quell the spirit of critique and questioning among students of social sciences. These textbooks as they stand now do not serve the purpose of training students of political science both the principles of politics and the broad patterns of political dynamics that have occurred over time," the letter said.

Revision or white-washing?
These surreptitious deletions were rendered as an oversight as alleged by the NCERT but the educators say that they refused to undo the deletions, saying they were based on the recommendations of experts. It also said the textbooks are anyway headed for revision in 2024 when the National Curriculum Framework kicks in. However, the NCERT later changed its stand and said "minor changes need not be notified".

What was deleted?
Among the references dropped from the Class XII History textbook were certain portions on Mahatma Gandhi and how his pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity "provoked Hindu extremists", and on a ban on the RSS. "Gandhiji's death had a magical effect on the communal situation in the country", "Gandhi's pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity provoked Hindu extremists", and "organisations like RSS were banned for some time" are among the other portions deleted.

The portions referring to the Gujarat riots were also dropped from the Class XI Sociology textbook, months after the NCERT removed the reference to the 2022 communal violence in two Class XII textbooks.

In their letter, Palshikar and Yadav said that as academics who are associated with the preparation of these textbooks, their names should not be maligned and removed from these dysfunctional textbooks.

 "We wish to explicitly record our full disagreement with the entire process of reshaping the text in the name of rationalisation. Both of us would like to disassociate ourselves from these textbooks and request the NCERT to drop our names. We request you to give effect to this request immediately and ensure that our names are not used in the soft copies of the textbooks available at the NCERT websites and also in the subsequent print editions," the letter read.