New Delhi: The Ram Janmabhoomi movement is given importance while references related to the demolition of the Babri Masjid have been deleted from three places in NCERT’s Class XII political science textbook, The Indian Express reported.
The NCERT has made the changes in a section on the Ayodhya dispute as a part of the revision of school textbooks for the academic year 2024-25.
As per the report, the original chapter listed down the sequence of events from the opening of the locks in 1986 to the “mobilisation on both sides” and the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Further, there was also a mention of the President’s rule in BJP-ruled states, communal violence and the “serious debate over secularism.”
Now, the revised book includes this section as per The Indian Express: “… 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. The Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Movement, becoming the central issue, transformed the direction of the discourse on secularism and democracy. These changes culminated in the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya following the decision of the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court (which was announced on November 9, 2019).”
Moreover, the summary of the chapter which mentions the Ayodhya dispute is also changed.
The old book included: “What is the legacy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and the Ayodhya demolition for the nature of political mobilisation?”. In the revised textbook, this part is deleted: “and the Ayodhya demolition for the nature of political mobilisation.”
In the exercise section, “the demolition of Babri Masjid” is one of six political events that have to be arranged in chronological order, has been replaced with, Supreme Court Judgement on the Ram Janmabhoomi, as per The Indian Express.
“Content is updated as per latest development in politics. Text on Ayodhya issue has been thoroughly revised because of the latest changes brought by Supreme Court’s Constitutional bench verdict and its widespread welcoming reception,” the NCERT mentioned on its website.
