There is no difference between India and Bharat, says Ministry of Education
The Union Education Ministry informed Parliament that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) does not differentiate between India and Bharat. Union Minister of State for Education Annpurna Devi, responding to a question raised by CPI (M) member Elamaram Kareem in the Rajya Sabha regarding the NCERT committee’s recommendation to replace the name India with Bharat in textbooks, said that Article 1 of the Constitution stated that India, that is Bharat, will be a confederation of states. She further emphasized that the Indian constitution recognizes both India and Bharat as the official names of the country.
NCERT duly recognizes this spirit as enshrined in our Constitution and makes no distinction between the two,” she said. The minister further added that the country is moving away from the colonial mindset and encouraging the use of words in Indian languages.
Speaking in Parliament, the Minister pointed out that NCERT is an independent body under the Ministry of Education that is involved in the preparation of the school curriculum and textbooks. Recently, a high-level committee was formed to review the school curriculum in October 2023, which recommended replacing the name India with Bharat in textbooks.
Although the recommendation has sparked a political controversy, NCERT has maintained that no decision has been taken on the panel’s recommendation. NCERT at that time, reacting to the said name change, stated that it was premature to comment on it, as the new curriculum and textbooks were under development and NCERT had informed various groups of curriculum experts.
Register for score updates
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education