NCERT Textbook Controversy: Opposition Parties Accuse Centre of Ideological Bias

The reconstitution of the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) Textbook Development Team for Class 11 and 12 Political Science has triggered a fresh political controversy, with opposition parties accusing the Centre of turning the premier educational body into an “ideological laboratory.” The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), along with the Congress and student organisation National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), has raised concerns over the composition of the newly formed 20-member panel. Opposition leaders allege that at least four members have direct or indirect links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The controversy centres on fears that ideological affiliations could influence the way political science and constitutional issues are presented to school students. Critics have particularly expressed concern over the treatment of subjects such as secularism, federalism, fundamental rights, democracy and social justice. The Congress has described the move as “Sanghikaran”, alleging that educational content is being reshaped along ideological lines. Party leaders have also used the phrase “Nagpur Coterie for Educational Rewriting and Trouble-making”, referring to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. The NCP (SP) and other opposition voices have similarly questioned whether the reconstituted panel will maintain academic neutrality while revising textbooks. They argue that political science textbooks have a particularly important role in shaping students’ understanding of India’s Constitution, democratic institutions and the country’s pluralistic traditions. The controversy comes amid wider political debates over revisions to NCERT textbooks and allegations by opposition parties that changes to educational material under the current government have sought to alter the interpretation of India’s modern history and political development.