NCERT textbook reform: Gujarat riots and Babri Masjid cut short; reference to 'mostly Muslims' removed

NEW DELHI: When NCERT revised the political science textbooks for classes 11 and 12, it omitted crucial information about many important events. The Babri Masjid demolition, Gujarat riots and Manipur merger were cut short. Some Hindutva references were also removed. Ram Temple construction was added. The 12th class history book says that whether Aryans migrated to India should be studied further.

Old and new

• In Class 11 Political Science Chapter 8 'Secularism', it was earlier stated that more than a thousand people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The reference to 'mostly Muslims' was removed. The Gujarat riots will no longer be mentioned in chapter five on human rights violations.
• The reference to the demolition of the Babri Masjid was omitted in the eighth chapter. The Ram Janmabhoomi struggle was maintained. New information about the Ram Temple was added. References to Hindutva politics have been removed. Earlier it was mentioned that the demolition of Babri Masjid caused major political changes and increased debates on Indian nationalism and secularism. The growth of BJP and Hindutva politics were also pointed out. From now on, students will be taught that the Ram Janmabhoomi struggle brought about a change in the debate on democracy and secularism and resulted in the construction of the Ram Temple.
• Earlier in the text, it was said that the Indian government had succeeded in 'pressuring' the king of Manipur and that the merger was possible. The word 'pressured' has been removed and replaced by 'persuaded'. The region Pakistan calls 'Azad Kashmir' has been reprinted as "Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir'.

NCERT with explanation

NCERT officials explain that it is just a routine reform. The justification for the edits related to the Gujarat riots was that all sections of the people suffer in any riot. Ram Janmabhoomi was added because it is the latest development in politics.