NCERT to Use Both “Bharat” and “India” Interchangeably in School Textbooks

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has announced that it will use the terms “Bharat” and “India” interchangeably in its textbooks, in alignment with the Indian Constitution. This decision comes following a recommendation from a high-level panel working on the social science curriculum, which suggested replacing “India” with “Bharat” in school textbooks for all classes.

NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani clarified the council’s stance, stating, “”Both words will be used in the books, and the council has no aversion to either ‘Bharat’ or ‘India’. It is interchangeable. Our position is what our Constitution says and we uphold that. We can use Bharat, we can use India, what is the problem? We are not in that debate. Wherever it suits we will use India, wherever it suits we will use Bharat. We have no aversion to either India or Bharat,”

Saklani emphasized that the use of both names in textbooks is not a new practice and will continue in future editions. “You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in new textbooks. This is a useless debate,” he remarked.

The high-level committee for social sciences, formed by NCERT to revise the school curriculum, had recommended last year that “India” be replaced with “Bharat” in textbooks. The committee, led by C.I. Isaac, also proposed introducing “classical history” instead of “ancient history” and incorporating the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) into the syllabus for all subjects.

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“The committee has unanimously recommended that the name Bharat should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. Bharat is an age-old name. The name Bharat has been used in ancient texts, such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old,” Isaac told a media source.

Despite the recommendations, the NCERT had previously stated that no final decision had been made regarding the panel’s suggestions.

The name “Bharat” gained official prominence last year when the government issued G20 invites in the name of the “President of Bharat” instead of the “President of India.” Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nameplate at the G20 summit in New Delhi also read “Bharat” instead of “India.”