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Incidents like Gujarat riots and Babri demolition needn’t be taught to school students : NCERT

  • In the NCERT’s 12th Class Political Science book, Babri is mentioned as a ‘Three-domed building’.
  • Rejected the allegation that it is an attempt to saffronise textbooks

New Delhi – The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced several significant changes in the 12th Class Political Science textbook, which is now available in the market. The most notable change is the removal of the term “Babri Masjid,” which has now been referred to as a “three-domed structure” in the new edition. Additionally, the chapter on Ayodhya has been condensed from four pages to two. The curriculum focuses more on Supreme Court judgments. Speaking about the removal of references to the Babri demolition and Godhra riots from the book, Saklani said, “If students want to read about violence and riots, there are many other reading materials available elsewhere. We have to not just reduce repetition but also look at what is relevant today.” Talking to India Today TV, NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said that it was not an attempt to saffronise books.

Dinesh Saklani further said, “Do we want to teach students to become aggressive and create discord in the society ? Do students need to be taught about riots ? They can find out about it when they grow up; but why teach from a textbook ? Since the 1984 anti-Sikh riots curriculum was removed from the textbook there was no such outcry.

The hue and cry about the changes is irrelevant. If the Supreme Court has ruled on this, why should it not be part of the curriculum ? What’s the problem with that ? If something is out of date, it should be replaced. I don’t think anywhere in it says ‘This is saffronising of the curriculum’. Children should know the facts; that is why we teach history, not to prepare the battlefield.

He defended the changes saying, “Why should we teach about riots in school textbooks ? We want to create positive citizens, not violent and depressed individuals. Should we teach our students in a manner that they become offensive, create hatred in society, or become victims of hatred ? Is that the purpose of education ?”

Changes made in the book

A. The previous description of Babri Masjid as a 16th-century mosque built by Mir Baqi is now described as a 3-domed structure erected at the built at Shriram’s birthplace in 1528, with Hindu deities’ paintings and statues inside and outside this wall.

The old book detailed the 1986 Faizabad (now Ayodhya) District Court’s decision to open the mosque for worship, leading to communal tensions and riots. It also gave information about communal violence, Rath Yatra, the fall of Babri in 1992 and the violence that broke out in January 1993.

These references have been omitted in the new book. The new book summarises these events, mentioning the opening of the three-domed structure and the subsequent legal and communal conflicts. Ayodhya dispute is mentioned in one passage. In the year 1986, the Faizabad District Court ordered the opening of the doors of the three-domed roof. So people got a chance to pray there. This three-domed structure is believed to have been built at the birthplace of Shriram. The foundation stone of the Shriram temple was laid, but further construction of the Shriram temple was prohibited. The Hindu community was worried about this, while the Muslim community was demanding control over the building. The case went to court after tensions between the two communities grew over land rights. After the collapse of concerned construction in the year 1992, many critics interpreted it as a blow to the principles of Indian democracy, which is mentioned in this passage.

B. Supreme Court Decision Included: The new edition includes the Supreme Court’s 2019 ruling that the disputed land belongs to the temple. The old book also contained news clippings published on 7th December 1992. The headlines of the news were ‘Fall of Babri Masjid’, ‘Dismissal of Kalyan Government by the Centre’ and a clipping dated 13th December 1992, in which ‘BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, ‘BJP miscalculated in Ayodhya” has been omitted from the new book.

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