Caste Struggle, Growth Of Capitalism Removed By NCERT From Class IX History Books

NCERT Class IX students will no longer have to read certain chapters related to caste conflict as they will be removed from the history textbooks. This is a part of HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar’s move to reduce the burden on students by performing a curriculum rationalisation exercise.

The decision to remove almost 70 pages from the book — India and the Contemporary World – I is the second textbook review undertaken under the present government. The revised textbooks will be available from March, just ahead of the new academic session. In 2017, NCERT made 1,334 changes, which included additions, data update and correction in a total of 182 textbooks.

What chapters have been removed?

An NCERT official said, “Of the chapters that are to be deleted include one on clothing and how social movements influenced how we dressed.”

The official said, “The second chapter is on the history of cricket in India and its connection to the politics of caste, region and community while the third focuses on the growth of capitalism and how colonialism altered the lives of peasants and farmers,” reported The Hindu.

‘Clothing: A Social History’ is the last chapter on the textbook which shows how clothing in India and England were shaped by the social movements and realities of both the nations. A part of this chapter titled ‘Caste Conflict and Dress Change’ made headlines in 2016 when political leaders objected to the “Upper Cloth Revolt” in Travancore.

During the revolt, the ‘lower’ caste Nadar women, who were forbidden from covering up their upper bodies, were attacked by Nairs in public in May 1822 for wearing a cloth across their upper bodies. “Over subsequent decades, violent conflict over dress codes ensued,” the chapter states.

In 2016, the CBSE has issued a circular to all its affiliated schools where it informed them that this particular section is omitted from the syllabus. This section continued to be a part of the textbook until the NCERT decided to drop the whole chapter altogether. Reportedly, while the ministry is trying to reduce the students’ burden, the parts that have been deleted in history are more than what has been deleted in from the mathematics and science textbooks.

In 2018, NCERT faced pressure to replace a reference to the ‘Anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat’ in a Class XII political science book to simply the ‘Gujarat Riots’and even for changing the interpretation of Hindutva.

Also Read: 1,334 Changes Made To NCERT Books; HRD Minister Says Syllabus To Be Cut To Half