"NCERT Duly Acknowledges This Spirit As Enshrined In Our Constitution:" Union Government On Bharat Vs India Row (image:ncert.nic.in/)
The union education ministry on Wednesday said on Parliament that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) does not differentiate between “India” and “Bharat”, and duty acknowledges the spirit as enshrined in our Constitution that recognises the both.
It was in response to a question asked by Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Santhosh Kumar and CPI(M) MP Elamaram Kareem in Rajya Sabha regarding the NCERT panel’s recommendations of replacing the name ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in textbook, Union minister of state for education Annpurna Devi said: Article 1 of the Constitution of India states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” India”s Constitution recognises both “India” and “Bharat” as the official names of the country which can be used interchangeably. The NCERT duly acknowledges this spirit as enshrined in our Constitution and does not differentiate between the two.”
Continuing further, she said: “As we collectively move away from the colonial mindset and encourage the usage of the words in Bhartiya Bhasha (Indian languages), NCERT, an autonomous body under the aegis of Ministry of Education involved in preparation of school curriculum and textbooks, will also do its best in furthering the same.”
Recently, NCERT Textbook row got erupted as a high-level NCERT committee proposes for replacing the name ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in textbooks. Reports says that a high-level NCERT committee for social sciences set up in November to revise the school curriculum recommended the use of “Bharat” instead of India in the school textbooks. Chairman of the committee and retired professor C.I Isaac, a Padma Shri awardee and RSS Ideologue has confirmed the report also. However, NCERT came up with clarification that it is too premature to comment as the development of new syllabus and textbooks is in the process.
The education body is revising the curriculum of the textbooks in accordance with the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP).
