NCERT removes the chapter that mentioned ‘Priests did not let Shudras and women study Vedas’

NCERT fails to show evidence sought in this regard by RTI activist Vivek Pandey

New Delhi – The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has removed a chapter containing misleading views about Brahmins and priests from the class VI history textbook. RTI activist Vivek Pandey sought evidence from NCERT in this regard last year. Pandey sought proof of the reference in the NCERT book that ‘Hindu priests or Brahmins discriminated against women and Shudras’. NCERT responded by saying, ‘We have no evidence for the claim that Brahmins and priests did not teach Vedas to women and Shudras.’ NCERT also assured to remove this misleading claim from its textbook. Accordingly, this section has now been removed from the textbook to be used in the academic year 2023-24.

What was written in the book ?

Chapter 5 ‘Kingdoms, Kings and Ancient Republics’ (pages no. 44-45) of the sixth standard history book states that the caste system was created by the priests and determined by birth. Women were banned from studying the Vedas by keeping them in the category of Shudras. Not only this, some people were declared untouchables by the priests.

Editorial Perspective

Congratulations to Vivek Pandey for getting NCERT to remove the chapter defaming Hindu Dharma !