NCERT chief says changes in textbook on Ayodhya dispute as per Supreme Court order

Three months after the National Council of Educational Research and Training dropped references from multiple places of the Babri Masjid demolition and given added emphasis to the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple movement in its Class 12 political science textbook, NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani said changes were made by experts as books did not want to create “violent, depressed” citizens. The NCERT said the change was being made ‘to bring the initial questions in synchronisation with internal latest changes made in the chapter.’ On dropping the reference to Babri Masjid demolition, in the same chapter, on page 139, the existing version reads, “Fourth, a number of events culminated in the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya in December 1992. These developments are associated with the rise of the BJP and the politics of ‘Hindutva’.” Changed version However, the changed version, the NCERT has stated, will read, “Fourth, 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. In another stark change, consider page 112 of Class 11 political science textbook titled ‘Political Theory,’ where in Chapter 8 — Secularism, the NCERT has dropped the reference of Muslims killed in post Godhra riots.