The Union government has denied the State’s demand for a relook at a recent recommendation of an education panel to substitute India with Bharat in school textbooks saying the Constitution recognises both names.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan clarified the Union government’s stance in a reply to a letter from State Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty.
Mr. Pradhan said the Constitution recognised both ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ as the country’s official names that could be used interchangeably. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, acknowledged this spirit as enshrined in the Constitution and did not differentiate between the two.
In the reply to Mr. Sivankutty, Mr. Pradhan noted that Article 1 of the Constitution stated that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”.
Mr. Sivankutty had written to Mr. Pradhan in October requesting the Union government’s intervention in reviewing the NCERT-appointed Sociology committee recommendation to change the name of the nation from India to Bharat in Social Science textbooks.
He had emphasised the need to preserve the status quo in the best interests of the educational system and the nation’s unity. A change was unnecessary and could lead to confusion among students, he had pointed out.
The dual nomenclature, he wrote, reflected the nation’s ability to respect and celebrate its historical roots while embracing modernity. For generations, students had learned about the country’s rich past, history, and heritage under the name ‘India.’ A change in the nomenclature would disrupt the continuity of education.
He also called for a thorough scrutiny of such recommendations by the NCERT to ensure they did not serve any particular political or ideological agenda.
