Use Bharat, not India in textbooks: NCERT panel

A high-level committee constituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to revise the school curriculum has recommended that "India" should be replaced by "Bharat" in all textbooks, panel chairperson CI Issac announced on Wednesday, stoking a political controversy.

- Fareeha Iftikhar

Issac, who heads the committee for social sciences, said the name change was part of the unanimous recommendations by the seven-member panel in its final position paper. Other recommendations included introducing classical history instead of ancient history as a component of the syllabus, and highlighting Hindu victories in battles over the centuries.

"Bharat is an age-old name. The use of the name Bharat finds its mention in ancient texts such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old," said Issac, who teaches history at CMS College in Kottayam and is closely linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"The term India started being used commonly only after the establishment of the East India Company and the battle of Plassey in 1757. Therefore, the committee unanimously recommended that the name Bharat should be used in textbooks for students across classes," he added.

The recommendations, which have been submitted to NCERT, will now have to be taken up by government body that drafts textbooks used by CBSE and several state boards, reaching tens of millions of students across India.

NCERT chairperson Dinesh Saklani said no decision had been taken yet on the panel's recommendations. "NCERT states that since the development of new syllabus and textbooks is in the process and for that purpose various curricular area groups of domain experts are being notified by the NCERT. So, it is too premature to comment," the body wrote on X.