NCERT drops references to Babri, Hindutva and Gujarat riots from Class XII politics book

NCERT has revised the Class XII political science textbook to drop some references to the Babri Masjid, the politics of Hindutva and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The revised syllabus will come into effect for the academic year 2024-25.

NCERT, the apex body tasked with drafting school textbooks for he Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), publicised the changes on Thursday.

Some revisions pertain to the Chapter ‘Politics in India since Independence,’ which lists Ayodhya movement as one of the five key “recent developments” in Indian politics.

The summary in the current version read: “What is the legacy of the Ram Janambhoomi movement and the Ayodhya demolition for the nature of political mobilisation?” This has been changed to “What is the legacy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement?”

In the same chapter a reference to Babri Masjid and Hindutva were dropped.

A paragraph in the original chapter, with a four-page section on the Ayodhya dispute, read: "A number of events culminated in the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya (known as Babri Masjid) in December 1992. This event symbolised and triggered various changes in the politics of the country and intensified debates about the nature of Indian nationalism and secularism. These developments are associated with the rise of the BJP and the politics of ‘Hindutva’.”

The new version will read: "The centuries old legal and political dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya started influencing the politics of India which gave birth to various political changes. The Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Movement, becoming the central issue, transformed the direction of the discourse on secularism and democracy. These changes culminated in the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya following the decision of the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court (which was announced on November 9, 2019).”

“Content is updated as per latest development in politics. Text on Ayodhya issue has been thoroughly revised because of the latest changes brought by Supreme Court’s Constitutional bench verdict and its widespread welcoming reception,” NCERT said on its website.

In the chapter on Democratic Rights, a reference to the Gujarat riots was dropped while citing cases of human rights violations.