Selection through transparent process: NCERT

In response to the news item, ``Supporters of Ram Janmabhoomi rewriting history textbooks'' (TheHindu,October 14), the Director, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Prof. J. S. Rajput has made the following clarification:

NCERT is an autonomous body and in it the selection of authors for writing textbooks is done through a transparent process after a careful evaluation of their academic qualifications. The assignment of writing some textbooks given to Dr. T. P. Verma, Prof. Makkhan Lal and many others is a result of this tradition and does not constitute ``the most closely guarded secret of the BJP's education policy'' as stated by your correspondent.

The existing textbook on Ancient India came under widespread public criticism which is too recent for Prof. Irfan Habib and the other distinguished historians quoted by Ms. Anjali Mody. In the book authored by Prof. R. S. Sharma, there were derogatory references to Lord Mahavira and the Jain tradition of dating the origins of this religion. Recently, the Delhi Assembly witnessed a furore over not only this textbook but also some others published by the NCERT in the past, which made similar disparaging remarks about other religions which need not be recounted here. It may also be added that the Delhi Assembly has passed a resolution condemning these books on history and the Delhi Government has withdrawn the books authored by Prof. Satish Chandra and Prof. R. S. Sharma.

NCERT is committed to publishing textbooks which will not sow seeds of communal suspicion in young minds. Rather, a healthy nationalistic spirit based on `Sarva Dharma Samabhava' will be sought to be inculcated as reiterated here in the National Curriculum Framework for School Education which has so far not been rejected by any State Government.The personal attacks levelled against Dr. Verma and Prof. Lal by some historians are unfortunate and clearly violate professional ethics. In their zeal to give a political colouring to the appointment, the critics forget that Dr. Verma and Prof. Lal had been appointed to academic posts by Governments other than the one at the Centre presently.

``My experience of the profound sense of hurt caused to some communities by the NCERT's existing books originally prepared more than a decade ago has put me on guard. In future, NCERT will get meticulously scrutinised all the manuscripts submitted by its authors so that none can accuse this esteemed body of sowing the seeds of communal bias or engendering stereotypes.''

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