NCERT Suggested BHATAR instead of India
Now maybe BHARAT will replace India in school books.
You may remember in 2020 a new policy was introduced by the Government of India, is National Education Policy (NEP) under this policy we may see some new ideas or implementable policies come out in time.
The 2022 Social Science Committee of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has recommended that ‘India’ should be called Bharat’ in all Social Science textbooks up to Class 12.Regarding this, the chairmen of this committee Prof. CI Issac said: “We are hoping it will be implemented from next academic year, but it all depends on NCERT”. However, it is a matter of debate about changing the Name of the Nation, which we have seen recently during the G20 Summit in New Delhi. When the President hosted a dinner to G20 members he mentioned “The President of Bharat” instead of “The President of India”. Since then, speculation has been rife about ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’.
The word “Bharat”, “Bharata” or the root of “Bharatvarsha” is traced back to Puranic literature and is also what we find in the epic Mahabharata. For example in the Puranas ‘Bharata’ is described as the land between the “sea in the South and the abode of snow in the North”.
If we analyze our history we may realize that the term India started being used commonly only after the establishment of the East India Company and the battle of Plassey in 1757.
Based on this theory, Prof. Issac said that the 7 (seven) member of this committee has unanimously recommended that the name “Bharat” should be used in textbooks for students across classes on social sciences.
Issac further said that the committee, which is one of the 25 committees formed by the NCERT in 2021 has recommended introducing ‘ classical history’ instead of ‘ ancient history’ in the textbooks. He said that the British divided our history into three periods, to show India in darkness, unaware of scientific knowledge and progress, which are ancient, medieval, and modern periods.
However, many examples of India’s achievements are in the fields of science, mathematics, solar system or you may go to the field of battles or how to gain wisdom.
So, Issac who is the member of the Indian Council of History Research (ICHR) and committee under him suggested that the classical period of Indian History be taught in the school along with medieval and modern periods.
Besides, the committee has also recommended the introduction of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the curriculum of all subjects.
