Reference to J&K accession tweaked in NCERT textbook

New Delhi, April 13

The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has made changes to Class XI political science textbook, revising certain portions pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir.

In the revised textbook, it is written that Pakistan had sent tribal infiltrators to capture J&K and that made then Maharaja Hari Singh accede to India.

The revised textbook reads, “However, immediately after Independence in August 1947, Pakistan sent tribal infiltrators from its side to capture Kashmir. This forced Maharaja Hari Singh to ask for Indian help and acceded to the Indian Union.”

The earlier textbook read, “Immediately, after Independence, Pakistan and India fought a war over Kashmir. Under such circumstances, the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to the Indian Union.”

The references to the autonomous status of J&K and the conditional accession (Article 370 that safeguard J&K’s autonomy) no more find a mention in Chapter 10 titled “Philosophy of the Indian Constitution”.

“For example, the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian union was based on a commitment to safeguard its autonomy under Article 370 of the Constitution,” reads the dropped paragraph.

Meanwhile, references to freedom fighter and India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad have been removed from the same textbook by the NCERT.

In the first chapter, titled “Constitution — Why and How”, a line has been revised to omit Azad’s name from the constituent assembly committee meetings.

The revised line now reads, “Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel or BR Ambedkar chaired these Committees.”

As part of its “syllabus rationalisation” exercise last year, the NCERT, citing “overlapping” and “irrelevant” as reasons, dropped certain portions from the course, including lessons on Gujarat riots, Mughal courts, Emergency, Cold War, Naxalite movement, among others from its textbooks.

The rationalisation note had no mention of any changes in Class XI political science textbook.

Maulana’s name dropped

References to freedom fighter and India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad have been removed from the Class XI political science textbook by the NCERT. In the first chapter, a line has been revised to omit Azad’s name from the constituent assembly committee meetings.