NCERT to use ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ interchangeably in its textbooks: Director Dinesh Saklani

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will use 'Bharat' and 'India' interchangeably in its textbooks, similar to the usage in the Constitution, according to NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani. This statement comes amid a high-level panel's recommendation to replace 'India' with 'Bharat' in school textbooks across all classes.

The NCERT chief has clarified that both 'Bharat' and 'India' will be used interchangeably in textbooks. Speaking to PTI at the agency's headquarters, he stated that the council has no preference for either term.

“'It is interchangeable....our position is what our Constitution says and we uphold that. We can use Bharat, we can use India, what is the problem? We are not in that debate. Wherever it suits we will use India, wherever it suits we will use Bharat. We have no aversion to either India or Bharat,” he said. He also mentioned that both terms are already in use in current textbooks and this practice will continue in new editions. “This is a useless debate,” Saklani added.

A high-level committee for social sciences, constituted by the NCERT to revise the school curriculum, had last year recommended that 'India' should be replaced with 'Bharat' in the textbooks for all classes. Committee chairperson CI Isaac, who was heading the panel, had said they have suggested replacing the name 'India' with 'Bharat' in the textbooks, introducing 'classical history' instead of 'ancient history' in the curriculum, and including the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the syllabus for all subjects.

"The committee has unanimously recommended that the name Bharat should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. Bharat is an age-old name. The name Bharat has been used in ancient texts, such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old," Isaac had told PTI.

The NCERT stated that no decision has been made on the panel's recommendations. The name Bharat was officially used last year when the government sent G20 invites in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India'. During the summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name plate also read 'Bharat' instead of India.