NCERT textbook controversies

• 1. Foundations And Early Pressures

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  The National Council of Educational Research and Training began its work in 1961 as a government body designed to guide school education across India. Its early years focused on unifying diverse communities through secular history textbooks written by scholars like Romila Thapar. In 1966, Thapar published Ancient India for Class VI, followed by Medieval India for Class VII the next year. These books faced immediate political pressure from religious groups who felt their traditions were not being glorified enough. The Hindu Mahasabha and Arya Samaj organizations protested against mentions of beef-eating in ancient times, claiming it violated Hindu sentiments. A Parliamentary Consultative Committee demanded in 1969 that textbooks state Aryans were indigenous to India, but editors rejected this request. By 1977, under Prime Minister Morarji Desai's Janata Party government, an anonymous memorandum targeted these same history books as anti-national. The committee argued the texts failed to criticize Muslim invaders sufficiently while highlighting leaders like Tilak and Aurobindo. Public debates raged until 1979 when the government withdrew R.S. Sharma's Ancient India from the Central Board of Secondary Education syllabus.

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• 2. Saffronization Debates Under NDA

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  In 2002, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government initiated a major overhaul of NCERT textbooks through a new National Curriculum Framework. Liberal historians objected strongly, accusing the administration of saffronizing education by elevating Hindutva cultural norms over secular perspectives. The BJP claimed its goal was merely to free institutions from alleged Congress and Communist hegemony rather than promote sectarianism. During this period, NCERT deleted references to beef-eating, cattle sacrifice, and critical evaluations of Puranic traditions without consulting original authors. They removed discussions about Guru Tegh Bahadur's execution and entire sections on Vardhamana Mahavira's early life. New textbooks authored by Professor Makkhan Lal for Class VI and Professor Hari Om for Class IX appeared in 2003 with added chapters on Upanishadic Philosophy. Critics noted these books gave disproportionate space to Hindu culture while minimizing Buddhism, Jainism, and Muslim rulers' actions. In 2003, Frontline Magazine exposed plagiarism in Contemporary World History for Class 12, which lifted content directly from an American textbook published by W.W. Norton & Company Inc.

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• 3. Revisions And Political Cartoons

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  April 2012 saw Republican Party leader Ramdas Athavale burn copies of a Grade 11 Political Science textbook containing a cartoon depicting B.R. Ambedkar sitting on a snail labeled Constitution. The image showed Pandit Nehru holding a whip behind him with the caption describing the slow pace of constitutional drafting. Athavale demanded the resignation of Union Minister Kapil Sibal, who also chaired the NCERT board. Following public outcry, chief advisors Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar resigned from their positions within days. Another controversy emerged later that year when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa criticized R.K. Laxman's anti-Hindi agitation cartoon from 1965. She argued it defamed Dravidian movement leaders like Periyar and C.N. Annadurai. The DMK party led by M. Karunanidhi joined calls to remove such cartoons entirely from textbooks. Within months, NCERT dropped six cartoons including those showing booth capturing, political defection, and Indira Gandhi. A letter from Shahi Imam Mohd. Mukarram Ahmed dated the 10th of September 2012 requested removal of paintings showing Gabriel the Archangel and pilgrims at Kaaba due to Sharia concerns. However, academic experts defended these images as sourced from medieval scholarly texts written in Muslim courts.

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• 4. Rationalization And Content Cuts

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  Between 2017 and 2021, NCERT conducted multiple review exercises reducing syllabus material significantly. In May 2018, director Hrushikesh Senapaty announced changes aimed at plugging gaps rather than full revisions. By 2019, rationalization efforts removed entire chapters on clothing history, cricket stories, peasant movements, and nationalist struggles in Indo-China. Class 10 Social Sciences dropped twenty-eight chapters down to fifteen while Science and Mathematics retained sixteen each. After the pandemic, a second round of cuts eliminated topics related to Islamic history including Kings and Chronicles: The Mughal Courts from Class 12. References to the Emergency period detailing arrests, torture, forced sterilizations, and media restrictions disappeared from Political Science textbooks. Chapters covering popular movements like Chipko, Dalit Panthers, and Narmada Bachao Andolan were deleted across classes six through twelve. Over 1,800 scientists signed an open letter condemning the removal of Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution from Class 10 Biology. Teachers grouped under Teachers Against the Climate Crisis protested the deletion of greenhouse effect and monsoon content from Geography and Environmental Studies syllabi.

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• 5. Scientific Modules And Mythology

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  Following Chandrayaan-3 moon landing in August 2023, NCERT released ten reading modules titled Chandrayaan Utsav for middle school students. The third module claimed ancient Indian texts like Vaimānika Shāstra contained knowledge of flying vehicles despite scientific evidence contradicting this assertion. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science demonstrated that aircraft built using these concepts would not fly aerodynamically. Former ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair called such claims scientific fiction lacking physical proof. The Breakthrough Science Society demanded withdrawal of material presenting mythology as historical fact. Although initially pulled back, the government reintroduced the module arguing philosophy could inspire innovation. Another controversy arose before Independence Day in August 2025 when Partition Horrors blamed Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Congress leaders, and Lord Mountbatten for India's division. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera urged tearing up the document for omitting Hindu Mahasabha's role in suggesting separate nations since 1938. Months after Operation Sindoor in May 2025, two new modules featured quotes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside Make in India plugs. These interactive discussions included dramatic classroom scenarios explaining terrorism while referencing Home Minister Amit Shah.

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• 6. New Editions And Historical Shifts

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  Between 2023 and 2025, NCERT renamed English-medium textbooks with Hindi titles like Mridang Santoor Poorvi and Ganit Prakash sparking debates over cultural imposition. Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty criticized the move as undermining linguistic diversity and federal principles. July 2024 saw Class 6 Social Science declare India had its own prime meridian called Madhya Rekha passing through Ujjain. April 2025 released a Class 7 textbook removing all references to Muslim rule periods including Tughlaq Khalji Lodi and Mughal dynasties. Instead it added content focusing on ancient kingdoms such as Magadha Maurya Shunga and Satavahanas. A new chapter titled How the Land Becomes Sacred covered pilgrimage sites across India alongside Maha Kumbh events. December 2025 brought Class 8 Social Science describing Babur as brutal conqueror slaughtering entire city populations while Akbar ordered massacres of thirty thousand civilians at Chittorgarh. Aurangzeb appeared as military ruler destroying temples gurdwaras and reinstating jizya tax. References to Razia Sultan Nur Jahan Tipu Sultan Hyder Ali vanished entirely from narratives replacing them with Maratha Empire expansions. The book claimed British took India more from Marathas than any other power while extracting billions in wealth totaling forty-five trillion dollars.

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• 7. Academic Criticism And Legacy

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  Historian S. Irfan Habib condemned history rewriting as BJP attempts imposing Hindu nationalist propaganda polarizing the country. He argued politicization poisoned school curriculum assaulting India's ethos through brainwashing young minds. University of Delhi professor Apoorvanand stated Narendra Modi's government sought portraying India historically as exclusively Hindu-only land. Rutgers historian Audrey Truschke noted erasing Mughals does not erase their actual presence within Indian history. Harbans Mukhia described strategy aimed winning elections by unifying Hindu vote attaching narrative Hindus under threat from Muslims. Political scientist Suhas Palshikar called deletion exercise act rewriting intended mentioning inconvenient facts only selectively. Romila Thapar criticized revised textbooks presenting distorted version of past undermining objective evidence-based study principles. Professor Angshuman Kar warned fragmented views might manipulate young minds through ideologically motivated omissions. Dr Ruchika Sharma labeled changes communal blueprint masquerading as history sowing ideological anger among students. She highlighted factual inaccuracies villainizing Mughal rulers while ignoring similar violence by other kings like Cholas. Experts maintained collective memory cannot be erased at will regardless of textbook alterations.

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