NEW DELHI, Jan 2 —— Notwithstanding the controversy generated by the new National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks for allegedly deviating from the secular line, history, culture and heritage of the North East Region in a break from the past, is likely to find place in the new textbooks.
The NCERT has been making efforts to give adequate coverage to the Region, Union Minister of State for HRD, Rita Verma gave the assurance to this effect. The new textbooks are being prepared with this in mind, she assured.
The suggestion by the HRD Ministry to the NCERT came following a belated realisation that the NER has so far not found a place it deserve in the NCERT textbooks and very little of its history, its contribution to the freedom struggle, its rich culture and heritage is mentioned in the curriculum.
The Union Minister admitted as much in the Parliament in reply to a question tabled by Dr Arun Kumar Sarma disclosing that it was reported by NCERT that resources and contributions of the North-east India has not been in the past been adequately and appropriately given focus in courses.
In the national curriculum framework for school education 2000 it has been clearly mentioned and recommended that the NE should find appropriate place in the curriculum material, the Minister asserted, adding that proper steps is being taken to cover NE adequately in books on social sciences including history and languages.
The HRD Ministry’s move assumes significance because of the resolution passed by the Indian History Congress (IHC) at its 63rd annual session on Monday in Amritsar. The Congress noted with concern that elementary requirement of impartiality when dealing with religious, linguistic and cultural tradition has been given a go by in NCERT history textbooks.
A Committee would now be set up to examine the new history textbooks brought out by NCERT. It has been given one-and-a-half months’ to submit its report. If approved by the executive committee of the Congress the finds may prove to be a source of new headache for the Union Government.
The Congress also urged the State Governments to review their own books and correct the errors if any. The Indian History Congress decided to review the history textbooks in the face of apprehensions that NCERT has made a clean departure from secular approach in its textbooks being brought out.
Meanwhile, Dr Sarma reacting to the development appealed to the intellectuals, academic community and the people of the Region in general to make representations to the Committee to ensure that the Region is given appropriate mention in the NCERT textbooks.