NCERT textbook row explained: Text on Mughals, Gandhi deleted from Class 12 books? Know controversy

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) had to issue a clarification after several chapters and texts were missing from the Class 12 political science and history books, sparking a major controversy in the education arena.

NCERT textbooks for Class 12 students in CBSE schools saw a shift in content after text related to Hindu-Muslim solidarity, the Mughal empire, and Mahatma Gandhi was omitted from the textbooks. Meanwhile, NCERT maintained that no new revisions have been done.

The NCERT has dropped from its class 12 history textbook certain portions on Mahatma Gandhi and how his pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity "provoked Hindu extremists", and on a ban on the RSS, triggering a row, with the Congress accusing the Centre of "whitewashing" and "distorting" history.

Here is all you need to know about the NCERT textbook row

After the Covid pandemic hit, the NCERT announced that Class 12 students had a lot of topics on their plate, and so several chapters will be omitted from the books to lighten the load and avoid repetition of text and topics in the books.

However, it seems like fresh revisions were made in the Class 12 History and Political Science textbooks, with fresh omissions regarding texts made. According to PTI, "Gandhiji's death had a magical effect on 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 portions deleted from the textbook.

Further, it was noted that text related to the 2002 Gujarat riots was also deleted, as well as chapters on the Mughal empire. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also slammed the Centre for the same, saying that you cannot erase such events from the history of this country.

Further, NCERT issued a clarification regarding the same, saying that no fresh text has been removed from the CBSE Class 12 textbooks. NCERT said that the issue should not be “blown out of proportion”, and the revisions made remain the same as last year.

Till now, no clarifications have been made regarding the missing text noticed in the 2023-2024 session textbooks of NCERT, which the organization maintains its current statement.

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