The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Tuesday issued an “unconditional and unqualified apology” for a controversial chapter on the judiciary in its Class 8 Social Science textbook and withdrew the entire book.
The chapter, titled “The Role of Judiciary in Our Society” from the textbook “Exploring Society: India and Beyond” (Part II), highlighted challenges in the judicial system such as corruption, a huge backlog of cases, and a shortage of judges. The content triggered political reactions and criticism from the judiciary.
Last month, the Supreme Court imposed a complete ban on further publication, reprinting, or digital circulation of the textbook, saying it contained “offending” references about corruption in the judiciary.
Did NCERT Books Face Controversy in the Past?
Although NCERT textbooks have faced legal challenges before, the Supreme Court’s current scrutiny of school textbooks is unprecedented.
In 1978, the Janata Party-led government removed historian R.S. Sharma’s book Ancient India from the CBSE syllabus. The government objected to its Marxist interpretation of history. It also criticised references to practices like beef consumption in ancient India. Authorities claimed the content hurt religious sentiments and appeared “anti-national”.
Another controversy emerged in 2012. A cartoon in the Class 11 political science textbook Indian Constitution at Work depicted B.R. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru. The image triggered protests across the country.
Following the backlash, NCERT advisers Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar resigned. Authorities also removed several cartoons from the textbook.
NCERT Withdraws Book, Vows Accuracy After Judiciary Controversy
More recently, between 2022 and 2024, NCERT revised textbooks and deleted chapters related to the Mughal Empire, as well as references to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
In a post on X, NCERT confirmed that it had withdrawn the book and apologised for the chapter. The council also said it regrets any inconvenience caused and remains committed to maintaining accuracy, sensitivity, and responsibility in educational content.
Also read:https://centraltimes.in/politics/two-lok-sabha-mps-refuse-salary-ethics-over-pay/