Union Education Minister DharmendraPradhan has rejected Kerala's plea to reconsider the NCERT panel's proposal to substitute 'India' with 'Bharat' in school textbooks. Pradhan, in response to Kerala's General Education Minister V Sivankutty, emphasized that both terms are constitutionally recognized and interchangeable. The NCERT-appointed Sociology Committee's suggestion is defended by Pradhan, citing Article 1 of the Constitution. Kerala had expressed concerns about disrupting the educational system's continuity, and Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan criticized the move as politically motivated, part of a trend excluding historical content from textbooks. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also opposed the NCERT panel's recommendation, asserting that it cannot be accepted. He urged citizens to unite and protect the essence of India, seeing the move as part of a broader trend of excluding certain historical portions from textbooks. Vijayan criticized the recommendation, viewing it as politically motivated, similar to recent exclusions in textbooks related to Mughal history and the banning of the RSS after Gandhi's assassination.

Source-Metro Vaartha