NCERT made five major revisions to the Class 12 political science textbook, removing references to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and flagging the “decline” of the Congress party after the 1989 general elections. indian express Report this week.

The apex education body advises the Center on policies and programs for “quality improvement” of learning in schools and has also revised history textbooks for Class 12 to link the roots of modern India to the Harappan civilization and the Aryan migration theory. This theory was first proposed by Western scholars, who believed that European or Central Asian peoples replaced the Harappans.

In Chapter 8 of the political science textbook, besides emphasizing the Ram Janmabhoomi movement (and deleting three references to the Babri Masjid) and the downturn of the Congress party, NCERT also includes links to the 1990 Mandal Commission, 1991 Revisions related to the economic reforms that began in 1999, as well as the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

According to NCERT, “Content is updated as per the latest developments in politics. Due to changes brought about by the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench judgment (the landmark judgment alloting the land on which the mosque is located to Hindus), the text on Ayodhya has been thoroughly updated Modification. Petitioner) and its widespread welcome.”

The Ayodhya issue along with the above points were listed as the five key recent developments in Indian politics. Regarding the former, the report said a four-page section altered the sequence of events and suggested that the communal violence that followed the demolition of the mosque was triggered by “mobilization from both sides.”

In another instance, NCERT said the developments in Ayodhya “are linked to the rise of the BJP and ‘Hindu’ politics”. In these and other instances, references to the demolition of the Babri Masjid have been removed.

There are also changes to history and social studies books for grades 7 to 10. indian express A NCERT statement was quoted as saying: “The biggest change, however, is in the Class 12 books, specifically the chapter titled ‘Bricks, Beads and Bones – Harappan Civilization’.

According to The Indian Express, these changes involving the Harappans were introduced due to “recent evidence from archaeological sites” and emphasize the “unbroken continuity” of the so-called Indus Valley Civilization. Central to these changes is “recent archaeological research” from the Rakhigarhi excavation site in Haryana, which claims that the Harappans were “indigenous” people.

The new textbook tells students: “Harappan DNA continues to this day, and most of the South Asian population appears to be descended from them.” The new textbook also ignores the established divide between early and late Harappan civilizations. It also called for a study of “the relationship between the Harappans and the Vedic people.”

Additionally, according to a report electric wireYear 12 sociology students will now be taught that the struggles of marginalized communities are not marked by poverty and social stigma.

The changes, which will come into effect in 2024/25, have been communicated to CBSE and the changed books – which will be used by around 40 million students – will be made available this month.

Overall, this is the fourth revision of NCERT textbooks since 2014, which included “rationalization” exercises (further controversial deletions) in the wake of the pandemic, a move the government said was aimed at reducing the burden on students.