“India” should be replaced with “Bharat” in the school textbooks for all classes, a high-level committee for social sciences, constituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to revise the school curriculum, has recommended.
According to committee chairperson C I Isaac, the panel has suggested replacing the name “India” with “Bharat” in the textbooks, introducing “classical history”, instead of “ancient history”, in the curriculum and including the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the syllabus for all subjects.
“The committee has unanimously recommended that the name ‘Bharat’ should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. We have also recommended introducing classical history instead of ancient history in the textbooks,” Isaac told PTI.
“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 said.
The name Bharat first appeared officially when the government sent out G20 invites in the name of “President of Bharat”, instead of “President of India”. Later, the nameplate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the summit in New Delhi also read “Bharat”, instead of India.
NCERT Chairman Dinesh Saklani, however, said no decision has been taken yet on the panel’s recommendations.
