The new NCERT Class 6 Social Science textbook, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, has been released on Friday. It rebrands the Harappan civilization as the ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’ and ‘Indus-Sarasvati’ civilization’s, and makes multiple references to the Sarasvati river.
The textbook attributes the decline of the Harappan civilization to climate change, leading to reduced rainfall and the drying up of the Sarasvati River in its central basin. The Sarasvati basin includes major cities like Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala, along with smaller cities and towns.
The textbook also highlights the importance of the Sarasvati river in the chapter on the ‘Beginnings of Indian Civilization,’ where the Harappan civilization is referred to as the ‘Indus-Sarasvati’ or ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’ civilization.
The book states that the Sarasvati basin included major cities of the civilization, such as Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala, along with smaller cities and towns. The river, now known as Ghaggar in India and Hakra in Pakistan, is described as seasonal.
The new textbook reassures students that Social Science encompasses many sub-disciplines but does not feel intimidated by all these terms. It also includes notes on the pronunciation of Sanskrit words, poetry by Kalidasa, and references to Tamil Sangam poetry in the Geography section.
A chapter titled ‘Locating Places on the Earth’ challenges the conventional understanding of the prime meridian, stating that India had its prime meridian, the “Madhya rekha,” passing through Ujjain. This “Ujjayini meridian” served as a reference for calculations in Indian astronomical texts long before the establishment of the Greenwich Meridian.
The new textbooks reflect systemic changes mandated by the National Education Policy 2020 and further defined by the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023, making comparisons with the old textbooks pointless.
The new textbooks were developed under the oversight of a 19-member committee chaired by MC Pant, Chancellor of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, and included philanthropist and writer Sudha Murty, Bibek Debroy, Chairperson of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, and other distinguished members.
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