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The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is facing backlash from academic advisors Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, who have demanded the removal of their names from political science textbooks. The two advisers, who were involved in developing textbooks for classes IX to XII, sent a letter to NCERT expressing their displeasure with the ‘indiscriminate distortion’ in the textbooks. They had initially requested the removal of their names last year, but the council refused, citing copyright ownership. In their latest communication, Yadav and Palshikar reiterated their demand, threatening legal action if their names are not dropped. They expressed shock that the NCERT had gone ahead to publish the new edition of textbooks without addressing their concerns.
The academic duo highlighted that the revisions made to the textbooks were beyond recognition and academically dysfunctional. They emphasized that the changes were made without consulting them, leading to irrational cuts, deletions, and additions. The controversial modifications included the removal of portions related to the Hindu extremists’ actions, the Ban on RSS after Gandhi’s assassination, the 2002 Gujarat riots, and the Mughal reign in India, among other topics.
Yadav and Palshikar stressed that the current textbooks did not serve the purpose of training students in political science effectively. They expressed their embarrassment at being associated with the distorted texts and insisted on immediate action to remove their names. In response, NCERT issued a circular asserting its right to make changes based on copyright ownership and clarifying that individual authorship cannot be claimed for textbooks. The council declared that the roles of advisory members were limited to advising on the development of textbooks and not beyond.
