The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) makes no distinction between India and Bharat, and duty recognizes the spirit as established in our Constitution, which recognizes both, the union ministry of education informed Parliament on Wednesday.
In response to a question from CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Elamaram Kareem about the NCERT panel’s recommendation to replace the name ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in textbooks, union minister of state for education Annpurna Devi stated, “Article 1 of the Constitution of India states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” The Indian Constitution recognizes both ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ as official names that can be used interchangeably. The NCERT duly acknowledges this spirit as enshrined in our Constitution and does not differentiate between the two.”
She also stated that the country is moving away from a colonial attitude and supports the use of Bhartiya Bhasha (Indian languages). “NCERT, an autonomous body under the aegis of the Ministry of Education involved in preparation of school curriculum and textbooks, will also do its best in furthering the same,” the minister was quoted as saying.
In October, a high-level NCERT committee constituted to reform school curriculum proposed that the word ‘India’ be replaced with ‘Bharat’ in textbooks.
The recommendation sparked a political uproar, with the opposition accusing the government of election gimmickry and claiming that the name change was inspired by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, a 26-party coalition opposing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
NCERT, on the other hand, insisted that no decision had been made on the panel’s suggestions. “NCERT states that since the development of new syllabus and textbooks is underway, various curricular area groups of domain experts are being notified.” As a result, commenting is premature,” it stated.
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