Ramayana, Mahabharata should be included in social sciences curriculum: NCERT panel
New Delhi, Nov 21: Epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata should be included in social sciences textbooks and the Preamble of the Constitution written on classroom walls, a high-level NCERT panel has recommended, according to its chairperson C I Issac.
The seven-member committee, which was constituted last year, has made several recommendations for its final position paper on social sciences, which is a key prescriptive document for laying down the foundation for the development of new NCERT textbooks.
The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has not taken a call on the recommendations yet.
"The panel has stressed on teaching epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata in the social sciences syllabus to students. We think that students in their teenage years build their self esteem, patriotism and pride for their nation," Issac said.
He noted that every year thousands of students leave the country and seek citizenship in other countries because of a lack of patriotism among them.
"Therefore, it is important for them to understand their roots and develop love for their country and their culture. Some boards already teach Ramayana and Mahabharata but it should be done in a more elaborate way," he said.
Issac earlier said that the same panel had also recommended replacing the country name 'India' with 'Bharat' in textbooks, introducing classical History' instead of ancient History in the curriculum, and highlighting "Hindu victories" in the textbooks for classes 3 to 12.
"Our Preamble gives importance to social values including democracy and secularism. It is noble. Therefore, we have recommended writing it on the walls of the classrooms so that everyone can understand and learn from it," Issac added.
The NCERT is revising the school curriculum in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The new NCERT textbooks are likely to be ready by the next academic session.
The panel's recommendations may now be taken into consideration by the 19-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) notified in July to finalise the curriculum, textbooks and learning material for these classes.
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Delhi horror: IRS officer's daughter raped, murdered by former househelp
New Delhi (PTI): A 22-year-old IIT graduate and daughter of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer was allegedly raped and murdered at her residence by their former househelp in southeast Delhi's upscale Kailash Hills locality on Wednesday morning, hours after he sexually assaulted another woman in Rajasthan's Alwar.
Rahul Meena, the 19-year-old domestic help who had worked with the family for around eight months and was sacked around a month ago, has been arrested for the crime, police said this evening.
The woman, who was preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, was alone in her house at the time of the incident and was found murdered in a room by her family members when they returned from the gym, they said.
Preliminary inquiry suggests the woman was sexually assaulted before being strangled to death using a mobile phone charger cable, the police said, adding they are waiting for the postmortem report for confirmation of sexual assault.
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The police also said they have detained two persons -- a car cleaner in the area, and a househelp in the neighbourhood -- for questioning.
A senior police officer said that the victim's parents would lock the house in the morning and leave the keys outside for their domestic help.
Meena was aware of the location of the keys and allegedly used them to enter the house on Wednesday. The accused was familiar with the household, including its layout and the daily routine of the family members.
He knew when the victim's parents would step out for their walk or gym sessions.
Meena, a native of Rajasthan, had been removed from his job around a month ago for alleged misappropriation of daily purchase bills, the officer said after preliminary investigation.
An official said that the victim was alone at the residence at the time of the incident, adding that the accused entered the house around 6 am, attacked the woman and sexually assaulted her. She was allegedly hit with a stick, inflicting significant blunt force trauma on her face and head.
Subsequently, the attacker strangled her using a mobile charging cable before fleeing the spot. The police also said there is no information about the verification of the accused when he was hired.
The sources said the victim put up a strong resistance, following which the accused struck her on the head with a stick to overpower her before strangling her with a charging cable.
The police suspect the crime was committed between 6 am and 7 am, a time likely chosen as two other domestic workers usually arrive later in the day.
A police source said that after the incident, the family members immediately checked CCTV footage and saw Meena entering their building and going to the third floor of the house belonging to the victim.
The family has already handed over the entire CCTV footage to the police.
The police said the suspect was also seen on a nearby street camera carrying a backpack.
They said Meena is also wanted in a sexual assault case in Rajasthan's Alwar.
"A case against the accused was registered on Wednesday. He committed the offence on April 21 with a woman in Rajgarh and fled from Alwar, around 170 km from here, to Delhi.
"An FIR has been registered at the Rajgarh Police Station against him. We are in contact with the Delhi Police, and a team of the Delhi Police has also visited here to question his family members," an officer in Alwar told PTI.
The police earlier said Meena, who was seen outside the house even a few days ago, was missing since the incident, and a manhunt has been launched to trace and apprehend him.
"We are examining all possible angles and gathering evidence," a senior police official said.
The police received information about the incident around 9 am from the victim's parents, who alleged that their former domestic help was involved in the killing of their daughter.
The police said that the woman had completed engineering and was preparing for the civil services examination.
"What we have got to know is that after committing the crime in Rajasthan, he fled from there and came to Delhi. He directly reached here in Kailash Hills. He knew the exact point where girls' parents would hide keys when they would step out for the gym.
"He entered the house when one of the security guards had gone either to attend nature's call or for tea. After committing the crime, he fled towards the jungle side. We are also investigating if the accused changed his clothes just before fleeing," a police officer privy to the investigation told PTI.
CCTV cameras were installed at the entrance of the victim's room, with the live feed accessible on both the victim's and her father's mobile phones, said the officer.
Earlier, the police said that it was suspected that the accused fled with the mobile phone of the victim. They said that more than 20 teams of different units and police stations were working on the case.
The brutal incident has sent shockwaves across the upscale residential locality. Locals expressed concern over safety and security in these neighbourhoods.
Greater Kailash MLA Shikha Roy said the victim was a bright and talented young woman with a promising future, and her death is a painful loss for the entire community.
"I have known her personally for several years and have seen her grow up as a sincere, disciplined and exceptionally talented girl. She was brilliant in her studies, had completed engineering from IIT Delhi, and was preparing for the UPSC examination with great determination.
"She was an equally good dancer and other cultural activities, and despite being deeply focused on her studies, she remained humble and connected with people around her," Roy said.
A case has been registered, and forensic teams have collected evidence from the crime scene.
Some recent cases involving househelps:
- A horrifying double murder rocked Delhi's Lajpat Nagar locality in 2025, where a mother and her 14-year-old son were found brutally murdered inside their home. Both victims had their throats slit by their domestic help.
- Delhi Police in 2024 filed a chargesheet in the case of a 63-year-old doctor's murder in his home in south Delhi's Jangpura. Police named three persons as accused. Among them was a domestic help. They were charged under sections of murder, robbery and criminal conspiracy.
- A 17-year-old domestic worker was apprehended and her associate was arrested by the Delhi Police for the murder-robbery of a 66-year-old woman in her house in Dwarka in 2023.
