'India' vs 'Bharat': NCERT panel favours the latter

New Delhi: Children in primary and higher secondary education should be taught the name ‘Bharat’ in textbooks and not ‘India’, a panel of experts has recommended in a move that has snowballed into a controversy. The recommendation was made by a high-level committee set up by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to revise school curriculum, chaired by Padma Shri historian Prof C I Issac.

After the report led to condemnation from Opposition leaders including Karnataka deputy CM D K Shivakumar and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, the NCERT said that “it was premature to comment” on the matter.

“NCERT states that since the development of new syllabus and textbooks is in the process and for that purpose various Curricular Area Groups of domain experts are being notified by the NCERT. So, it is too premature to comment on the news being flashed in the media on the concerned issue,” the curriculum body said in a statement posted on X.

The Committee is among 25 such expert panels formed by the NCERT in 2021 to come up with recommendations on various subjects and themes. Issac said that ‘India’ is not a historical name, since it came into existence after the East India Company set foot in India.

“Mostly after the Battle of Plassey, the name India came about. Bharat is the historical term for our country – there is mention in the Vishnu Purana and in other ancient texts. So, when the suggestion came up, the committee unanimously decided to pass the recommendation that the name ‘Bharat’ should be used in textbooks for students till class 12,” Issac said.

Another recommendation of the committee is to include post-Independence history in India as well as stories where the wins of native Indians and Hindus are not glorified. Issac said that historical events between 1947 and now should be reflected in the textbooks.

The controversy over changing the name to Bharat has raged since the government sent out G20 invites stating that they were from the ‘President of Bharat’ and not India. This week, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, too, insisted on the usage of the name Bharat.

Issac, who is associated with the RSS-affiliated think tank Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram, has been part of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) since the 1970s. Issac is also a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research formed by the union ministry of education.