'Bharat' is a matter of pride for us: CM Dhami on NCERT panel's recommendations on replacing 'India' with Bharat'
Oct 25, 2023
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 25 : Reacting to the recommendations of a panel of the NCERT to replace the name 'India with Bharat' in school textbooks, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that "Bharat' is a matter of pride for us".
"We have been hearing slogans like 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Vande Mataram' since childhood. It is a matter of pride for us," CM Dhami told reporters here.
An NCERT panel, headed by historian CI Issac, recommended replacing 'India with Bharat' in school textbooks.
The recommendations were made by the seven-member Committee for Social Sciences, which is among the committees constituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training to prepare position papers on various subjects.
Speaking to ANI over the phone, Issac said the "term India started being used commonly only after the establishment of the East India Company and the battle of Plassey in 1757".
"We have unanimously recommended that the 'Bharat' should be used in textbooks for students across classes," Isaac said.
The panel chaired by Issac was among the 25 committees formed by the NCERT in December 2021 to prepare position papers on various subjects and themes.
A controversy had broken out over the panel recommendations with some opposition leaders alleging that "confusion" was being created as several institutions use 'India' in their names.
On the NCERT panel's recommendation, CPI MP Binoy Viswam asked why the ruling BJP is "scared" of the word India.
"I can only tell them to read the Constitution. Article 1 begins like this "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." This is India. This is the Constitution. Then what is wrong with them? Why are they scared of the word India?... One nation, one election. All these moves show that the BJP government at the centre is 100% afraid of the new mood. That mood is against the government," Binoy Viswam said while talking to ANI.
Meanwhile NCERT on Wednesday said that "it is too premature to comment" on reports in sections of media concerning changing 'India' to 'Bharat' in its textbooks and noted that the development of a new syllabus and textbooks is in the process for which groups of domain experts are being notified by it.
