NCERT leaves Babri Masjid out of textbook, replaces it with ‘three-dome structure’
No need to teach about riots, demolition in schools, says NCERT chief after textbook revisions
New Delhi, Jun 16: Rejecting accusations of saffronisation of school curriculum, NCERT's director has said that references to Gujarat riots and Babri masjid demolition were modified in school textbooks because teaching about riots "can create violent and depressed citizens."
In an interaction with PTI editors at the agency's headquarters here on Saturday, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said the tweaks in textbooks are part of annual revision and should not be a subject of hue and cry.
Asked about references to Gujarat riots or Babri masjid demolition being tweaked in NCERT textbooks, Saklani said, "Why should we teach about riots in school textbooks? We want to create positive citizens not violent and depressed individuals".
"Should we teach our students in a manner that they become offensive, create hatred in society or become victim of hatred? Is that education's purpose? Should we teach about riots to such young children ... when they grow up, they can learn about it but why school textbooks. Let them understand what happened and why it happened when they grow up. The hue and cry about the changes is irrelevant," he said.
The comments by Saklani come at a time when new textbooks have hit the market with several deletions and changes. The revised Class 12 political science textbook, does not mention the Babri masjid, but refers to it as a "three-domed structure". It has pruned the Ayodhya section from four to two pages and deleted details from the earlier version.
It instead focuses on the Supreme Court judgement that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the site where the disputed structure once stood before it was torn down by Hindu activists in December 1992. The Supreme Court verdict was widely accepted in the country. The consecration of the Ram idol in the temple was performed on January 22 this year by the prime minister.
"We want to create positive citizens and that's what is the purpose of our textbooks. We cannot have everything in them. The purpose of our education is not to create violent citizens ... depressed citizens. Hatred and violence are not subjects of teaching, they should not be focus of our textbooks," added Saklani.
He hinted that the same hue and cry is not made about 1984 riots not being in textbooks.
The latest deletions in the textbooks include: BJP's 'rath yatra' from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya; the role of kar sevaks; communal violence in the wake of the demolition of the Babri masjid; President's rule in BJP-ruled states; and the BJP's expression of "regret over the happenings at Ayodhya".
"If Supreme Court has given a verdict in favour of Ram temple, Babri masjid or Ram janmabhoomi, should it not be included in our textbooks, what is the problem in that? We have included the new updates. If we have constructed new Parliament, should our students not know about it. It is our duty to include the ancient developments and recent developments," he said.
Asked about allegations of saffronisation of curriculum and ultimately textbooks, Saklani said, "If something has become irrelevant ... it will have to be changed. Why shouldn't it be changed. I don't see any saffronisation here. We teach history so students know about facts, not for making it a battleground".
"If we are telling about Indian Knowledge System, how can it be saffronisation? If we are telling about iron pillar in Mehrauli and saying Indians were way ahead of any metallurigical scientist, are we saying wrong? How can it be saffronisation?"
Saklani, 61, who was head of the ancient history department at the HNB Garhwal University before taking charge as NCERT director in 2022, has faced criticism over the changes in textbooks, especially pertaining to historical facts.
"What is wrong about changes in textbooks? Updating textbooks is a global practice, it is in interest of education. Revising textbooks is an annual exercise. Whatever is changed is decided by subject and pedagogy experts. I do not dictate or interfere in the process ... there is no imposition from top.
"There are no attempts to saffronise curriculum, everything is based on facts and evidence," he said.
The NCERT is revising the curriculum of the school textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
From the assertion that recent studies of ancient DNA obtained from archaeological sources at Rakhigarhi, an Indus Valley site in Haryana, rule out Aryan immigration to a call for more research into whether the Harappans and the Vedic people were the same, several crucial topics have either been dropped or tweaked in textbooks.
A two-page table detailing achievements of Mughal emperors such as Humayun, Shah Jahan, Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb have also been removed.
This is the fourth round of revision and updating of NCERT textbooks since 2014.
Referring to the changes to the section on Ayodhya, the NCERT had said in April -- "Content is updated as per latest development in politics. Text on Ayodhya issue has been thoroughly revised because of the latest changes brought by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional bench verdict and its widespread welcoming reception".
Saklani said, some changes have happened because the subjects were irrelevant, some to update new information while several topics were removed earlier to minimise burden on students cause by the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce duplication of content.
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Cong slams Modi govt as 'anti-worker', calls for review of new Labour code
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of being "anti-worker" and demanded that the new labour code be reviewed, MGNREGA be revived as well as a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day be established.
On International Labour Day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took a swipe at the government and said unemployment in India today is a direct consequence of the 'Hum Do, Hamare Do' policies.
"Driven by the 'Hum Do, Hamare Do' policy, the Modi government implemented an anti-worker Labour Code. As a result, unrest has erupted everywhere - be it in Noida, at the IOCL facility in Panipat, Adani's factory in Raikheda, NTPC Patratu, or the Samsung factory in Sriperumbudur," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
Instead of ensuring job security, this Code promotes policies such as contract labour and 'Hire & Fire' practices, Kharge said and called for a review of the new Labour Code.
The Modi government has effectively dismantled MGNREGA by forcibly pushing legislation through Parliament, he alleged.
"Mr. Modi has shifted 40% of the wage burden onto the State governments. State governments are unable to bear this financial strain and will eventually be forced to stop providing work," he claimed.
The Modi government has compelled workers into a state of unemployment and pushed them towards 'gig work', Kharge said.
Currently, 69% of the workforce is working for wages below the statutory minimum wage, he said.
The Modi government has engineered a crisis of stagnant wages, Kharge alleged.
"When adjusted for inflation, the wages of the majority of India's workers have grown by less than 1% annually over the last decade (from 2014-15 to 2022-23)," he said.
The Modi government has created a massive unemployment crisis among the educated workforce, specifically, among graduates, Kharge claimed and added that jobs have been eliminated through the sale of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
"The government has refused to fill approximately 30 lakh vacant government positions. Furthermore, the government's policy blunders have led to the decimation of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)," the Congress chief said.
The Congress reiterates its five demands for India's workers including revival of MGNREGA and its expansion to urban areas, Kharge said.
He said a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day should be established, with MNREGA included within its scope.
Kharged demanded that a 'Right to Health' law must be enacted, providing Universal Health Coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh for laborers and workers.
"'Life Insurance and Accident Insurance' coverage must be provided for all unorganized workers. Preventing the contractualization of employment must be made a core priority of the government, and the new Labour Codes must be reviewed," Kharge asserted.
