NSUI flags ‘RSS links’ in NCERT political science textbook panel

New Delhi: The NSUI has criticised the NCERT's reconstituted Textbook Development Team for political science textbooks of Classes 11 and 12, saying that the team includes members who have direct or indirect links with the "RSS-affiliated ecosystem".

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) raised concerns over the composition of the team, saying the inclusion of individuals with associations with the RSS and its student wing ABVP raises questions about academic neutrality and ideological diversity in the development of school textbooks.

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The team, reconstituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), has been mandated to develop the Class 11 textbook by November this year and the Class 12 textbook by July next year.

According to the NCERT notification, the team will integrate themes including "cultural rootedness", "Indian Knowledge Systems" and inclusion, besides seeking guidance from curricular area groups on social sciences, languages, environmental education, innovative pedagogy and teaching-learning material.

The team is headed by academic and political analyst Sandeep Shastri, vice-president of Karnataka-based Nitte, and includes academicians and educationists from institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, National Law University and IGNOU.

Among the members, Yadunath Deshpande, currently a senior consultant with the Ministry of Education, has a documented organisational background in the ABVP, while Prashant Divekar has been associated with Pune-based Jnana Prabodhini, an institution linked to the RSS.

Vandana Mishra, a professor at JNU's Centre for Political Studies, is a former national secretary of the ABVP, while JNU associate professor Ravi Rameshchandra Shukla has served on the editorial board of the Indian Journal of Democratic Governance, published by the Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership-Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, an organisation associated with the RSS.

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The student wing of the Congress alleged that the presence of such members could influence the ideological orientation of textbooks dealing with subjects such as the Constitution, democracy, fundamental rights, secularism, federalism and social justice.

"NCERT is a national academic institution, not an extension of any political organisation," NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar said, demanding that the existing team be dissolved and reconstituted with independent educationists, political science scholars, constitutional experts and experienced teachers.

The NSUI also demanded that the qualifications, expertise and selection criteria of all members be made public and that draft textbooks undergo independent academic review and public consultation.

"Education must empower young Indians to question, reason, think critically and understand the Constitution, not turn them into followers of any ideology," Jakhar said.

In a post on X, the NSUI alleged that the presence of RSS-affiliated members in the committee raised "extremely serious questions" and accused the government of attempting to turn the education system into an "ideological laboratory".