NEW DELHI: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will use “Bharat” and “India” interchangeably in its textbooks, aligning with the country’s Constitution, according to NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani.
This decision follows a recommendation from a high-level panel working on the social science curriculum that suggested replacing “India” with “Bharat” in school textbooks for all classes.
“Both words will be used in the books, and the council has no aversion to either ‘Bharat’ or ‘India’. It is interchangeable. Our position is what our Constitution says and we uphold that. We can use Bharat, we can use India, what is the problem? We are not in that debate. Wherever it suits we will use India, wherever it suits we will use Bharat. We have no aversion to either India or Bharat,” said Saklani as quoted by PTI.
He added, “You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in new textbooks. This is a useless debate.”
Last year, a high-level committee for social sciences, formed by NCERT to revise the school curriculum, recommended that “India” be replaced with “Bharat” in textbooks for all classes. The committee, led by C I Isaac, also suggested introducing “classical history” instead of “ancient history” and including the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the syllabus for all subjects.
“The committee has unanimously recommended that the name Bharat should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. Bharat is an age-old name. The name Bharat has been used in ancient texts, such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old,” Isaac told PTI.
The NCERT had previously stated that no decision had been made on the panel’s recommendations.
The name “Bharat” first appeared officially last year when the government sent out G20 invites in the name of “President of Bharat” instead of “President of India.” Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nameplate at the G20 summit in New Delhi also read “Bharat” instead of “India.”
This decision follows a recommendation from a high-level panel working on the social science curriculum that suggested replacing “India” with “Bharat” in school textbooks for all classes.
“Both words will be used in the books, and the council has no aversion to either ‘Bharat’ or ‘India’. It is interchangeable. Our position is what our Constitution says and we uphold that. We can use Bharat, we can use India, what is the problem? We are not in that debate. Wherever it suits we will use India, wherever it suits we will use Bharat. We have no aversion to either India or Bharat,” said Saklani as quoted by PTI.
He added, “You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in new textbooks. This is a useless debate.”
Last year, a high-level committee for social sciences, formed by NCERT to revise the school curriculum, recommended that “India” be replaced with “Bharat” in textbooks for all classes. The committee, led by C I Isaac, also suggested introducing “classical history” instead of “ancient history” and including the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the syllabus for all subjects.
“The committee has unanimously recommended that the name Bharat should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. Bharat is an age-old name. The name Bharat has been used in ancient texts, such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old,” Isaac told PTI.
The NCERT had previously stated that no decision had been made on the panel’s recommendations.
The name “Bharat” first appeared officially last year when the government sent out G20 invites in the name of “President of Bharat” instead of “President of India.” Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nameplate at the G20 summit in New Delhi also read “Bharat” instead of “India.”