Row over NCERT move on Emergency
A war of words broke out between the BJP and Congress on Wednesday after the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) included a section on Emergency in its class 9 social science textbook. Earlier, the topic was part of the class 12 school curriculum. The textbook refers to the period as “one of the major challenges to democracy in India.”
“One of the major challenges to democracy in India was recorded when an Emergency was imposed in 1975-77. In the early 1970s, public dissatisfaction with the government led by Indira Gandhi was growing. Rising unemployment, inflation, and allegations of misgovernance led to widespread protests,” said the paragraph in the newly developed Social Science textbook “Understanding Society: India and Beyond”.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hailed the move, saying future generations should know about the “dark deeds” of the Congress, with the latter accusing the NCERT of engaging in “divisive politics” and undermining Constitutional values.
Former law minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that the Congress is afraid of the truth because any discussion on the Emergency will raise uncomfortable questions about the arrest of Jayaprakash Narayan, the forced sterilisation campaign and other actions taken during the period.
“Young people will ask why Jayaprakash Narayan was arrested. Why was forced sterilisation carried out? The Congress does not have any reply,” Prasad told reporters during a Press conference at the BJP headquarters.
Congress MP KC Venugopal criticised the NCERT for including a section on the Emergency in the Class IX textbook. “They (BJP) are interested only in this type of divisive politics. They are trying to divert the history of India and are trying to change the curriculum… This is not at all acceptable. This is an attack on constitutional values, and we are fighting against that,” Venugopal said.
The Emergency was imposed 51 years ago on June 25, 1975, following a period of political unrest and a court verdict that declared Gandhi’s election null and void. “NCERT has done the right thing. Future generations should know and understand the dark deeds of the Emergency so that such a situation does not arise again. That is why NCERT brought it to the forefront. NCERT did a good job,” said Pradhan.
