NCERT panel suggests changing 'India'to 'Bharat' in textbooks; Oppn sees red

New Delhi, NT Bureau: Leaders of several opposition parties on Wednesday opposed an NCERT panel's recommendation to replace "India" with "Bharat" in school textbooks, and alleged that the ruling BJP wanted to change history and was taking such "desperate steps" fearing its defeat at the hands of the opposition bloc INDIA.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the word "India" evoked as much pride as "Bharat" but the ruling dispensation wants "to indoctrinate an entire generation into hating a word we grew up feeling a lot of pride towards."

There has been a raging debate over the government using "Bharat" instead of "India" at various international events in the recent past, after the opposition parties named their grouping as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

A committee constituted by the NCERT to revise social sciences curriculum has recommended that "India" should be replaced with "Bharat" in textbooks for all classes.

According to committee chairperson C I Isaac, the panel has suggested introducing "classical history", instead of "ancient history", in the curriculum and including the Indian Knowledge System (IKS).