National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has removed the Preamble to the Constitution from several Class III and Class VI textbooks this year. This change affects textbooks for key academic subjects, including languages and environmental studies (EVS).
The NCERT, which published textbooks between 2005 and 2008, is updating them in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) introduced by the NDA government in 2020. This year’s revisions include new textbooks for Classes 3 and 6, reflecting the latest National Curriculum Framework. In the newly revised editions, the Preamble appears only in the science book Curiosity and the Hindi book Malhar. The NCERT has consolidated the three EVS books into one, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, which does not include the Preamble but does cover fundamental rights and duties. The new mathematics textbook is not yet available.
The new English textbook, Poorvi, includes the national anthem, while the Sanskrit book Deepakam features both the national anthem and the national song, but omits the Preamble. The old Sanskrit book, Ruchira, also lacked the Preamble.
For Class 3, none of the updated textbooks for Hindi, English, mathematics, or the new World Around Us (which replaces EVS) includes the Preamble. The old EVS book Looking Around and the Hindi book Rimjhim 3 contained the Preamble.
According to Telegraph India, Nandita Narain, a former faculty member at St Stephen’s College under Delhi University, said the Preamble is a miniature form of the Constitution and that the national anthem, national song, or the fundamental rights and duties cannot replace it.
“The NCERT must explain why it has removed the Preamble from several textbooks. I don’t think it is a coincidence,” Narain said.
“I feel that the BJP government is afraid of the Preamble, which encompasses the core values of the Constitution like liberty, equality and fraternity. This government has acted against the core values of the Constitution. So, it has removed the Preamble from so many books.” Reported Telegraph India
However, this year in June, NCERT has also revised the Class 12 Political Science textbook and removed the term “Babri Masjid,” which has now been referred to as a “three-domed structure” in the new edition.
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