New Delhi: A court notice has been issued to the union ministry of education and the director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) after a person filed a petition over the glorification of Mughal rulers in the history textbook of class 12.
The petitioner demanded the removal of some content, alleging that it glorifies Mughal rulers. The court asked respondents to file their replies by April 19.
How did the controversy start?
It all started after the petitioner, PC Bhandari, filed an RTI seeking proof for the claim, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb issued grants to repair temples that were demolished during wars, that was made on page number 234 of the NCERT history textbook for class 12. When RTI reply informed that no proof exists, he moved the court seeking the removal of the disputed content from the NCERT textbook.
It is not the first time, earlier too NCERT had been accused over the content of its books. Some sections of the society allege that the content of the books is leftist biased whereas, others claim that the organization is trying to saffronize Indian history.
NCERT
NCERT, an autonomous organization of union government was established in 1961. Apart from other activities, it publishes textbooks. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) prescribes NCERT textbooks for students of standard I to XII.