New Delhi:

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday firmly refuted allegations that the Preamble of the Indian Constitution has been removed from NCERT textbooks.

In a tweet, Mr Pradhan stated that these claims have no basis and emphasized that, under the National Education Policy (NEP), the NCERT has given due importance to various aspects of the Indian Constitution, including the Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights, and the National Anthem.

Mr Pradhan criticized those spreading misinformation about the Indian education system, accusing them of playing with the future of children. He argued that the Congress party, inspired by Macaulay’s ideology, has always been antagonistic towards India’s development and education system. He asserted that the Congress’ argument that only the Preamble reflects constitutional values exposes their limited understanding of the Constitution.

“The allegations of removing the Preamble of the Constitution from NCERT textbooks have no basis. For the first time under the National Education Policy, NCERT has given due importance and respect to various aspects of the Indian Constitution – Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights, National Anthem – in the textbooks…Those who are playing with the future of children and calling the Indian education system rubbish should try to know the truth before spreading lies. Inspired by Macaulay’s ideology, Congress has always hated India’s development and education system. The argument that only the Preamble of the Constitution reflects constitutional values exposes Congress’ understanding of the Constitution,” the minister wrote on X.

“Congress’s cup of sins is full and those who are roaming around these days as ‘fake Constitution lovers’ and waving copies of the Constitution, their ancestors had repeatedly killed the basic spirit of the Constitution. If there is even a little shame and remorse left in the Congress Party, then it should first understand the Constitution, constitutional values and NEP and stop doing petty politics in the name of the children of the country,” the post said. 

Professor Ranjana Arora, Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies and Development at NCERT through a social media post on X said that the understanding that “only the Preamble reflects the Constitution and Constitutional Values is flawed and narrow”.

“The allegations regarding the removal of the Preamble from the NCERT textbooks do not have a sound basis. For the first time, NCERT is giving great importance to various facets of the Indian Constitution- the Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and the National Anthem. All these are being placed in various textbooks of various stages. The understanding that only the Preamble reflects the Constitution and Constitutional Values is flawed and narrow,” she wrote.

“Why should children not acquire Constitutional Values from Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and National Anthem along with Preamble? We give equal importance to all of these for the holistic development of children following the vision of NEP – 2020,” she added.

The clarification from the educational body comes amid claims by the opposition of the Preamble being omitted from NCERT textbooks.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has responded to the recent controversy surrounding the alleged removal of the Preamble from its textbooks, stating that the claims are unfounded.

Professor Ranjana Arora, Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies and Development at NCERT through a social media post on X said that the understanding that “only the Preamble reflects the Constitution and Constitutional Values is flawed and narrow”.

“The allegations regarding the removal of the Preamble from the NCERT textbooks do not have a sound basis. For the first time, NCERT is giving great importance to various facets of the Indian Constitution- Preamble, Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and the National Anthem. All these are being placed in various textbooks of various stages. The understanding that only the Preamble reflects the Constitution and Constitutional Values is flawed and narrow. Why should children not acquire Constitutional Values from Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights and National Anthem along with Preamble? We give equal importance to all of these for the holistic development of children following the vision of NEP – 2020,” Professor Ranjana Arora, Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies and Development at NCERT wrote in a post on X.

The clarification from the educational body comes amid claims by the opposition of the preamble being omitted from NCERT textbooks.

Earlier, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha questioned the “silence” of alliance partners (INDIA bloc) over the issue and said the preamble of the Constitution is being “violated.”

His statement came after the NCERT left Babri Masjid out, referring to it only as a “three-dome structure” in its revised Class 12th Political Science textbook. The revision pertains to Chapter 8, ‘Recent Developments in Indian Politics’.

“The education policy should be guided by the Constitution…The preamble of the Constitution is being violated…Shouldn’t the holocaust, partition and war be taught to the students?… What kind of people are taking decisions ?… The students should know everything that despite hatred, hate and violence India evolved…Why are the alliance partners silent ?… This is an issue related to the future of students,” Manoj Jha told ANI.

NCERT revised its Class XII political science textbook, saying the change reflects the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. The final judgement in the Supreme Court was declared on 9 November 2019. The Supreme Court ordered the land to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple.

New NCERT textbooks have hit the market with several deletions and changes. The revised Class 12 political science textbook, does not mention the Babri Masjid, but refers to it as a “three-domed structure and has condensed the Ayodhya section from four pages to two.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The BJP government will never change the Constitution or end reservation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, accusing the Congress of creating “fear psychosis” and resorting to spreading misinformation for “vote bank” politics.

In an interview with PTI, Mr Singh blasted the Congress for spreading “canards” that the BJP will change the Constitution if it returns to power and especially asserted that there was no question of changing the Preamble of the Constitution.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been alleging that the BJP will “tear up and throw away” the Constitution if it retains power. Some other Congress functionaries had expressed apprehensions that the BJP may drop the word “secularism” from the Preamble of the Constitution.

“Congress brought constitutional amendments 80 times. They changed the Preamble during the Emergency,” the Defence Minister said.

“The BJP will never change the Constitution. Constitution makers never imagined that there would be changes in the Preamble. You (Congress) only acted to hurt the core idea of the Constitution,” Mr Singh said.

“There is no question of changing the Preamble of the Constitution. They changed it and now they are making baseless allegations against us,” he added.

The Preamble to the Constitution of India presents the principles of the Constitution. The 42nd Amendment in 1976 changed the description of India from a “sovereign democratic republic” to a “sovereign socialist secular democratic republic”.

“They (Congress) are trying to get peoples’ support by instilling fear among the citizens,” Singh said.

“I would suggest that they should try to get people’s support by creating confidence and not by instilling fears. Electoral campaigns should be based on facts,” he said.

On Friday, Mr Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and the RSS are attacking India’s democracy continuously and want to “destroy” the country’s Constitution.

“The Congress is creating fear psychosis” and resorting to spreading misinformation for “vote bank politics”, the Defence Minister said.

On the issue of reservation also, he alleged that the Congress is misleading the nation.

“The Congress is trying to mislead people. There will not be any end to reservation. They are making false allegations against us,” Mr Singh said.

The Congress has asked BJP leaders to clear the party’s stance on whether it would remove the 50 per cent cap on reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes.

“We will not tinker with the reservation at all,” Mr Singh said, when asked about the Congress’ call to clarify on the 50 per cent cap.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)