Replacing of 'India' in textbooks: Kerala Govt sends letter to the Centre
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Left government in Kerala has sought the intervention of the Central government to reconsider a recent recommendation made by an NCERT panel to replace the term 'India' with 'Bharat' in school textbooks.
State General Education Minister V Sivankutty has sent letters via email to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, seeking their intervention into the matter.
A high-level committee for social sciences, constituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to revise the school curriculum, has recommended that the name of the country 'India' be replaced with 'Bharat' in the school textbooks for all classes in the country.
In his letters, Minister Sivankutty underscored the importance of upholding the existing practice in the best interest of the educational system and the nation's unity, which thrives on its diverse cultural heritage.
For generations, students have learnt about the country's rich past, history and heritage with the name 'India', he said, adding that any change in this would create confusion and disrupt the continuity in the educational system.
Sivankutty said allegations have cropped up that the NCERT's present stance would only support certain ideologies.
This has raised concerns about the distortion of history and bias in the educational system, he said in the letter.
It is essential to scrutinise such recommendations to ensure that they do not follow any particular political or ideological agenda, the minister added.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Thursday categorically made it clear that the NCERT panel's recommendation to replace 'India' with 'Bharat' in school textbooks cannot be accepted.
He also urged all citizens to unite and safeguard the essence of India.
He had said that the present recommendation could be seen only as a continuation of the recent arbitrary exclusion of portions including Mughal history and the banning of the RSS following Gandhi's assassination from textbooks.
The politics behind the move are as clear as day, the CM had said.
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SC takes cognisance of NCERT class 8 chapter on corruption in judiciary
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the contents of the class 8 NCERT textbook referring to corruption in the judiciary and termed it a matter of "grave concern."
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that "children of class 8 are taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is a matter of grave concern."
The CJI said, "I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course."
He added, "As head of the institution, I have done my duty and have taken cognisance … This seems to be a calculated move. I won't say much."
Justice Bagchi said the book seemed to be against the basic structure of the Constitution.
The CJI said, "Please wait for a few days. Bar and Bench all are perturbed. All high court judges are perturbed. I will take up the matter suo motu. I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course."
Later, Justice Kant said that the top court has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.
Corruption, massive backlog of cases, and lack of an adequate number of judges are among the "challenges" faced by the judicial system, according to the new social science NCERT textbook for class 8.
The section "corruption in the judiciary" in the new book states that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court, but also how they conduct themselves outside it.
