Using 'Sindu-Sarasvati' For Harappan Civilization Is Scholarly Not Politics: NCERT Panel Head

Michel Danino, the head of the drafting committee of NCERT‘s new social science textbooks defended the changes made in the books, in an interview with Indian Express. Michel Danino a visiting professor of the Humanities and Social Science department at IIT Gandhinagar, chaired the NCERT’s committee that drafted new social science textbooks based on the National Curriculum Framework.

Danino oversaw the release of the first class 6 social science textbook titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond. He described this year’s textbook as a ‘good first step’ and told in the interview that it will be ‘expanded’ with additional chapters next year. The book release was delayed as the committee had only 5 months to draft the new textbooks, he reportedly told.

Read also: CBSE Issues Guidelines On Use Of NCERT Textbooks in Schools

The NCERT committee head also defended the inclusion of alternative names such as ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’ and ‘Indus-Sarasvati’ for the Harappan Civilisation in the new textbooks. Danino said that the terminologies are based on well-established scholarship and are not influenced by political agenda. This has nothing to do with Hindutva, he said in the interview with the News Agency.

The New Social Science book for Class 6 is an amalgamation of three separate books for History, Geography and Civics published by the NCERT. Notably, students of Class 3 and Class 6 will get new textbooks for 2024-25 academic year. Class 6 students will get a single Social Science text book entitled Exploring Society – India and Beyond.