THE National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is under intense scrutiny yet again for including controversial topics and allegedly biased narratives in school textbooks. The laudatory mention of the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in a section of the Class-9 social science textbook has become the latest flashpoint. The section not only presents SIR as a mechanism to ensure that only eligible citizens can vote but also praises the poll panel’s efforts to conduct impartial elections despite enormous logistical challenges. Opposition parties have claimed that such description overlooks serious allegations of institutional partisanship and voter disenfranchisement, particularly in West Bengal.
Introducing impressionable minds to a contested exercise without acknowledging the public debate surrounding it creates a one-sided narrative. School books are meant to educate, not polarise. The NCERT’s pick-and-choose approach blurs the line between education and ideological messaging. The textbook also has an expanded chapter on the Emergency, which has been described as a grave assault on democracy. No wonder the move has been welcomed by the BJP but criticised by the Congress as politically motivated. The inclusion of a verse from the Manusmriti to illustrate respect for women in ancient India has revived the debate over this historical treatise, which contains contentious provisions on caste and gender.
Students in their early teens need to learn about the Emergency, India’s electoral system and ancient social traditions. However, they must also be familiarised with the context, nuances and multiple perspectives. It seems that the NCERT has learnt no lessons from the dressing-down it received from the Supreme Court over a passage on “corruption in the judiciary” in a Class-8 textbook. The council’s repeated entanglement in controversies has dented its credibility. Curriculum development should be guided by scholarly consensus, transparent consultation and rigorous peer review rather than political priorities. In a vibrant democracy, education should cultivate questioning minds — not prescribe predetermined conclusions.
