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Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
NCERT panel to examine textbooks after Rajasthan royal heirs object to map
Kolhapur: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has set up a committee of experts from educational institutions, led by its curriculum department head Ranjana Arora, to examine the content of CBSE textbooks. This comes in the backdrop of the criticism it is facing from descendants of Rajasthan royal families over a map in the Class 8 social science book that shows their erstwhile states under the Maratha Empire. "NCERT has received feedback about the educational content in a few textbooks. Hence, a committee of experts is being constituted as per its established practice. This committee will examine the feedback in light of the available evidence and submit its report at the earliest possible," a press release issued by NCERT said, without any reference to the map or the book. Among those who have objected to the map printed on page 71 of unit 3, 'Rise of Marathas' in the textbook, 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond', are Chaitanya Raj Singh, head or Maharawal of Jaisalmer, Bhupesh Singh Hada, heir of the royal family of Bundi, Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, descendant of Maharana Pratap, and former Union minister and Congress politician Jitendra Singh, who is a member of the erstwhile Alwar royal family. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is this legal? Access all TV channels without a subscription! Techno Mag Learn More Undo They claimed that in the 18th century, the princely states of Rajasthan-Marwar, Mewar, Bikaner, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Jaipur, and Alwar maintained their independence and autonomy and were never under the domination of the Marathas, never paid any taxes, and there was never any interference of the Marathas in the administration. Hada even went on to say that the Maratha Empire was a fictitious entity. Some of them also tagged Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on X, while some of the BJP MPs associated with the royal families met him in person and registered their objection. Maratha historians, however, have countered their claims, stating that the 1752 Ahadnama treaty between the Marathas and Mughals led to Maratha domination over the princely states controlled by the Mughals, which included princely states from Rajasthan. The Scindia Research Centre, an initiative of the Scindias of Gwalior, has put out several posts on its official X handle. Citing a collection of treaties, engagements, and sanadas published in 1909, the centre said, "The British emerged victorious against the Scindia Marathas, following a valiant resistance from the latter. The British then proceeded to forge individual friendship treaties with several states in what is now Rajasthan, which had formerly paid tribute to the Marathas. " The centre also cited V P Menon, then secretary in the ministry of states between 1947 and 1951, who stated in the book "Integration of Indian States": "By 1792, Madhoji Scindia (Mahadji Shinde) had established his ascendancy over the Rajputs and the Jats, and his power and splendour in northern India were absolute." Historians seek govt intervention Maratha historians have urged the Maharashtra govt to approach the Centre and stop NCERT from bowing down to Rajput royal heirs. "Maps were prepared later by the historians. Historians like Jadunath Sarkar and Irfan Habib have presented maps of the expanse of various empires such as the Mughals and Marathas. The map shown in the NCERT textbook is of a period called the 'high tide of the Marathas', especially under the military leadership of Mahadji Shinde and Malharrao Holkar. The Marathas had killedars in the fort of Peshawar, Kandahar, Attock, and even Delhi's Red Fort," said Kolhapur-based historian Indrajit Sawant. Sawant further said the Rajputs were under Mughal domination, and when the Marathas got total influence on the Mughal Badshah, the influence spread across. "There was no direct domination of the Marathas, but so was that of the Mughals across areas shown in the maps in history books. We demand that state govt approach Centre and stop NCERT from making changes in the map. The map can, however, be made clearer as to the areas of direct domination and indirect domination, mentioning the context to avoid the struggle over history. " Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
NCERT sets up expert panel to examine books after map row
Kolhapur: The NCERT has set up a committee of experts from educational institutions, led by its curriculum department head Ranjana Arora, to examine the content of CBSE textbooks. This comes in the backdrop of the criticism it is facing from descendants of Rajasthan royal families over a map in the Class 8 social science book that shows their erstwhile states under the Maratha Empire. Among those who have objected to the map printed on page 71 of unit 3, 'Rise of Marathas' in the textbook, 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond', are Chaitanya Raj Singh, head or Maharawal of Jaisalmer, Bhupesh Singh Hada, heir of the royal family of Bundi, Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, descendant of Maharana Pratap, and former Union minister and Congress politician Jitendra Singh, a member of the erstwhile Alwar royal family. They claimed that in the 18th century, the princely states of Rajasthan-Marwar, Mewar, Bikaner, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Jaipur, and Alwar maintained their independence and autonomy and were never under the domination of the Marathas, never paid any taxes, and there was never any interference of the Marathas in the administration. Hada even said the Maratha Empire was a fictitious entity. Some of them also tagged union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on X, while some of the BJP MPs associated with the royal families met him in person and registered their objection. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Maratha historians have countered their claims, stating that the 1752 Ahadnama treaty between the Marathas and Mughals led to Maratha domination over the princely states controlled by the Mughals, including in Rajasthan. The Scindia Research Centre, an initiative of the Scindias of Gwalior, has put out several posts on its official X handle. Citing a collection of treaties, engagements, and sanadas published in 1909, the centre said, "The British emerged victorious against the Scindia Marathas, following a valiant resistance from the latter. The British then proceeded to forge individual friendship treaties with several states in what is now Rajasthan, which had formerly paid tribute to the Marathas. " The centre also cited V P Menon, then secretary in the ministry of states between 1947 and 1951, who stated in the book 'Integration of Indian States': "By 1792, Madhoji Scindia had established his ascendancy over the Rajputs and the Jats, and his power and splendour in northern India were absolute." Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
NCERT panel to examine content amid row over Maratha map
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Thursday constituted a committee of experts to examine the feedback about the educational content in a few textbooks. Ranjana Arora, head of the Curriculum Studies and Development (DCSD) of NCERT will be the convenor of the committee of high-level domain experts from reputed institutions and faculty members from the relevant subject area, officials said. NCERT panel to examine content amid row over Maratha map 'At present, NCERT has received feedback about the educational content in a few textbooks. Hence a Committee is being constituted having senior experts, as per its established practice. This committee will examine the feedback in light of the available evidence and submit its report at the earliest possible,' NCERT said in a statement on Thursday. NCERT's statement came three days after Chaitanya Raj Singh, the head of Jaisalmer's former royal family, raised concerns over alleged historical inaccuracies in one of NCERT's newly released textbooks. On Tuesday, Singh in a post on X, objected to a map in the Class 8 Social Science textbook depicting Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha Empire. He described the portrayal as 'historically misleading, factless, and seriously objectionable,' claiming it misrepresents the role and territory of Rajput and Maratha rulers as there are 'no authentic historical sources' that mention 'any Maratha dominance, invasion, taxation, or authority' over Jaisalmer. The map in question shows the Maratha Empire in 1759 extending beyond the western coast to include large parts of the northern plains, as well as present-day Gujarat, Rajasthan, Lahore, and Peshawar. It also marks tributary states under Maratha influence. While the Class 7 History textbook included the Marathas as part of a broader chapter on 18th-century political formations, the revised Class 8 book dedicates an entire chapter to the Marathas. The earlier textbook featured maps showing Marathas were broadly placed in present-day Maharashtra with arrows indicating their expansion, while the Rajputs were shown around present-day Rajasthan. The chapter in the old textbook stated: 'By the 1730s, the Maratha king was recognised as the overlord of the entire Deccan peninsula.' On Wednesday, Mahima Kumari, BJP MP from Rajasthan's Rajasmand met Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to discuss the 'incorrect depiction of history by NCERT.' 'The Honorable Minister ji assured that this matter will be considered seriously and necessary action will be taken,' she said in a post on X. Tane Singh Sodha, lecturer of history at a government school in Jaisalmer said that Mughals never ruled over Rajasthan but collected taxes (like chauth and sardeshmukhi) from various royal families of Rajasthan by exerting military pressure. 'Their authority was more about extraction than governance. Marathas looted or extracted payments through force but never established proper administrative control,' he said. Responding to the objections raised over the map, Michel Danino, chairperson of NCERT's Curricular Area Group (CAG) for social science, in a note issued on Wednesday, stated that 'further research is on to confirm that our map's boundaries are incorrect.' 'If they are,' he added, 'a revised map will be prepared based on the best information available, and submitted for future editions of the textbook.' Danino also emphasized that the NCERT team is 'fully open to error correction.' He clarified that the chapter in question was developed in consultation with two experts on the Maratha period, and 'nowhere in the chapter (including the map) is Jaisalmer mentioned.' The map, he said, was based on earlier published maps, and 'to the best of our knowledge, no objection was raised against such maps, which have long been in the public domain.' Danino further explained that the map includes not only areas directly under Maratha control, but also 'states paying tributes/taxes, or at times under some agreement with the Marathas.' Addressing the process behind textbook preparation, he pointed to the 'tight timeline' under which the new textbooks had to be developed, stating that it 'hardly allows for original research in every relevant primary source,' and that contributors had to rely on secondary sources that are widely accepted as authentic and scholarly. He also acknowledged an oversight, noting that while the new Class 7 textbook includes a disclaimer stating that borders on historical maps are approximate, 'the team should have used the same caveat for all historical maps in this book as well.' As a follow-up to the National Education Policy 2020, NCERT has been releasing new textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 since 2023–24 under the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE). Earlier objections were raised over the portrayal of other regional histories in social science textbooks. Actor R Madhavan criticized the revised NCERT syllabus for focusing heavily on Mughal and British rule while neglecting southern dynasties like the Cholas and Pandyas. Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik also expressed disappointment over the removal of the 1817 Paika Rebellion from the Class 8 Social Science Part 1 textbook, calling it a 'watershed moment' in Odisha's history to which NCERT responded that it will be covered in the second part of the book. 'The committee will examine all the concerns including representations of regional histories including the Ahoms in Assam, coverage of South Indian dynasties, and certain chapters in vocational and physical education books,' a NCERT source said. NCERT's Thursday statement said it follows an established process of forming expert committees to review substantial feedback on textbook content or pedagogy. 'The committee carefully deliberates on the matter, makes evidence-based decisions regarding the content or pedagogy, and recommends appropriate actions accordingly at the earliest,' it said. Former NCERT director JS Rajput said, 'We used to get feedback on our books throughout the year. With the help of NCERT committees comprising various experts, we used to examine the claims made by stakeholders including students, teachers and academicians.'
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
NCERT forms panel to review textbooks amid row over Rajput, Ahom history
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has constituted a committee to examine feedback received on textbook content, including objections to the depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha Empire, alleged misrepresentation of Ahom history, and the exclusion of the 1817 Paika Rebellion. NCERT forms panel to review textbooks amid row over Rajput, Ahom history(HT_PRINT) In a statement on Thursday, the NCERT said that in keeping with its established practice, it has formed a panel comprising senior experts to examine suggestions and concerns related to the educational content in a few textbooks. "This committee will examine the feedback in light of the available evidence and submit its report as soon as possible," the statement noted. The committee is headed by Professor Ranjana Arora, head of the NCERT's Department of Curriculum Studies and Development. The move comes amid mounting criticism from public figures and historians over alleged factual inaccuracies and exclusions in recently revised school textbooks. NCERT has begun rolling out newly updated textbooks for several classes as part of its curriculum revision. While all books till Class 8 have already been released, the remaining ones--from Class 9 to 12--are expected to be out by the end of the year. Among the recent feedback under review is the depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha Empire in the Class 8 Social Science textbook, sources told ANI. Chaitanya Raj Singh, a descendant of Jaisalmer's former royal family, criticised the NCERT Class 8 social science textbook for portraying the Rajput state as part of the Maratha Empire. Calling the depiction "historically misleading and factually baseless", Singh urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to "correct" what he termed "erroneous, malicious, and agenda-driven content". Objections have also been raised over the portrayal of other regional histories. Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed disappointment over the removal of the 1817 Paika Rebellion from the Class 8 history textbook. Calling it a "watershed moment in Odisha's history", Patnaik said the exclusion undermines the legacy of the Paikas, who led a revolt against British rule nearly four decades before the 1857 uprising. Sources said the committee is likely to examine representations made on topics including the Ahoms in Assam (in the Class 8 social science book), coverage of South Indian dynasties, and certain chapters in vocational and physical education books. Actor R Madhavan also recently joined the chorus of voices questioning the revised syllabus, specifically pointing out the disproportionate focus on Mughal and British rule, while Southern Indian dynasties like the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, and Cheras receive less attention. The NCERT said feedback is routinely reviewed through institutional mechanisms. "It is a well-established practice that whenever substantial feedback or suggestions are received regarding the content or pedagogy of a textbook, a committee comprising domain experts is constituted to carefully deliberate on the matter and recommend appropriate actions."
News18
6 days ago
- Politics
- News18
NCERT forms panel to review textbooks amid row over Rajput, Ahom history
New Delhi [India], August 7 (ANI): The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has constituted a committee to examine feedback received on textbook content, including objections to the depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha Empire, alleged misrepresentation of Ahom history, and the exclusion of the 1817 Paika a statement on Thursday, the NCERT said that in keeping with its established practice, it has formed a panel comprising senior experts to examine suggestions and concerns related to the educational content in a few textbooks. 'This committee will examine the feedback in light of the available evidence and submit its report as soon as possible," the statement committee is headed by Professor Ranjana Arora, head of the NCERT's Department of Curriculum Studies and move comes amid mounting criticism from public figures and historians over alleged factual inaccuracies and exclusions in recently revised school has begun rolling out newly updated textbooks for several classes as part of its curriculum revision. While all books till Class 8 have already been released, the remaining ones–from Class 9 to 12–are expected to be out by the end of the the recent feedback under review is the depiction of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha Empire in the Class 8 Social Science textbook, sources told Raj Singh, a descendant of Jaisalmer's former royal family, criticised the NCERT Class 8 social science textbook for portraying the Rajput state as part of the Maratha the depiction 'historically misleading and factually baseless", Singh urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to 'correct" what he termed 'erroneous, malicious, and agenda-driven content".Objections have also been raised over the portrayal of other regional Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed disappointment over the removal of the 1817 Paika Rebellion from the Class 8 history textbook. Calling it a 'watershed moment in Odisha's history", Patnaik said the exclusion undermines the legacy of the Paikas, who led a revolt against British rule nearly four decades before the 1857 said the committee is likely to examine representations made on topics including the Ahoms in Assam (in the Class 8 social science book), coverage of South Indian dynasties, and certain chapters in vocational and physical education R Madhavan also recently joined the chorus of voices questioning the revised syllabus, specifically pointing out the disproportionate focus on Mughal and British rule, while Southern Indian dynasties like the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, and Cheras receive less NCERT said feedback is routinely reviewed through institutional mechanisms. 'It is a well-established practice that whenever substantial feedback or suggestions are received regarding the content or pedagogy of a textbook, a committee comprising domain experts is constituted to carefully deliberate on the matter and recommend appropriate actions." (ANI)
