Lok Sabha Question No. 1540 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-29
Subject: Distorted Depiction of History
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: SONA RAM CHOUDHARY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

**LOK SABHA**

**UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1540**

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2015

**Distorted Depiction of History**

†1540. COL. SONARAM CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) the main objective of the National Council for Educational Research and Training;

(b) whether the Government has received complaints that history of the country is being depicted in a distorted manner in the authorised textbooks for education;

(c) if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government is taking any steps to amend such mistakes by setting up a Committee of Experts with regard to the said complaints of wrong historical facts being taught through history textbooks and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) whether the Government is taking any concrete step/proposes to take any step to include the glorious historical incidents of the country in the syllabus by making moral education compulsory at the level of primary education and if so, the details thereof?

**ANSWER**

**MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT**

**(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)**

(a)   The main objectives of the National Council of Educational Research and Training are to:

(i)  undertake, aid, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education;

(ii) prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and        other related literature;

(iii)  organize pre-service and in-service training of teachers;

(iv)  develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices;

(v)  collaborate and network with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and other        educational institutions;

(vi)  act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education;         and

(vii)  act as a nodal agency for achieving goals of universalisation of elementary education.

(b & c)    Representations have been received from different stakeholders from time to time with regard to history    textbooks published by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The representations, as and when received, are forwarded to NCERT for taking appropriate action. The NCERT has taken these representations into consideration and, wherever found necessary, changes have been carried out in the relevant text books.

**(d)    NCERT constituted an expert Committee, consisting of internal experts as well as external experts from various universities/institutions in the country to take a quick review of History Textbooks of NCERT to remove any mistake or controversial material, if any, mentioned therein.  The Committee has recently submitted its report to NCERT.**

(e)    The NCERT history textbooks already include a number of glorious historical incidents of the country from the ancient to the modern periods of Indian history. The National Curriculum Framework (NCF)-2005 suggests integration of value concerns in the entire school life – the curriculum, classroom environment, school management, textbooks, teaching learning, teacher pupil relationships etc.

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