A high-level committee for social sciences, constituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to revise the school curriculum, has recommended replacing the name ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in textbooks. The panel has also recommended introducing ‘classical History’ instead of ancient History in the curriculum.

The committee’s chairperson CI Issac on Wednesday said the unanimous recommendation given by the seven-member committee has found mention in its final position paper on social sciences, which is a key prescriptive document for laying down the foundation for the development of new NCERT textbooks.

Issac further said that the use of the name Bharat finds its mention in ancient texts such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old,

“The term India started being used commonly only after the establishment of the East India Company and the battle of Plassey in 1757,” he said. Therefore, the committee has unanimously recommended that the name ‘Bharat’ should be used in textbooks for students across classes, Issac added.

Further, Issac said that the committee has further recommended introducing ‘classical history’ instead of ‘ancient history’ in the textbooks. He said that the British divided Indian history into three phases – ancient, medieval and modern showing India in darkness, unaware of scientific knowledge and progress.

Besides, the committee has also recommended the introduction of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the curriculum of all subjects.

The NCERT is revising the curriculum of the school textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.