
Hours after reports emerged saying that the NCERT Committee had recommended replacing India with 'Bharat' in all school textbooks, the council said that it was too premature to comment on the news as the development of a new syllabus and textbooks was still in process.
"Since the development of new syllabus and textbooks is in process and for that purpose, various Curricular Area Groups of domain experts are being notified by the NCERT, it is too premature to comment on the news," the NCERT said in a statement.
Earlier today, PTI reported that a high-level committee for social sciences had recommended that "India" should be replaced with "Bharat" in the school textbooks for all classes. The committee was constituted by the NCERT to revise the school curriculum.
Committee chairperson CI Isaac said the panel had suggested 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, according to the report.
"The committee has unanimously recommended that the name 'Bharat' should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. We have also recommended introducing classical history instead of ancient history in the textbooks," Isaac told PTI. "Bharat is an age-old name. The name Bharat has been used in ancient texts, such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old."
Isaac 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).
He said the British had divided Indian history into three phases -- ancient, medieval, and modern -- showing India in darkness, unaware of scientific knowledge and progress. "Therefore, we have suggested that the classical period of Indian history be taught in schools, along with medieval and modern periods," he added.
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.
Isaac said that the committee had also recommended the introduction of the Indian Knowledge System in the curriculum of all subjects.
NCERT Chairman Dinesh Saklani, however, said no decision has been taken yet on the panel's recommendations, the agency said.
(With inputs from PTI)