A Brief History of India’s Education System

[This article is a part of a series of articles on ‘India’s Education Journey: From Macaulay to NEP’. This is the seventh part of this series. The previous articles have been published in previous issues of Janata Weekly.]

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The early 1990s marked a turning point in India’s post-independence political landscape. On the one hand, the worsening economic crisis led to the Rao–Manmohan Singh reforms and globalisation of the Indian economy. On the other hand, it also led to a steady rise of right-wing forces, especially the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its many affiliates. The BJP, the RSS’s political wing, first formed a coalition government at the Centre in 1998 that lasted six years. After a gap of ten years, it returned under the leadership of Narendra Modi in 2014, and has remained in office since.

As noted earlier, the BJP has aggressively pushed forward the neoliberal reforms started in 1991, showing little concern for the poor and the marginalised. But what truly distinguishes the BJP from the Congress is its political and cultural agenda.

The Indian population comprises more than 4,000 distinct communities, marked by differences in customs, language, caste, religious beliefs, cuisine, etc.[44] The RSS believes that despite this diversity, 80 percent of Indians are Hindus and the original inhabitants of the land, while the rest are regarded as foreigners. It aims to culturally homogenise this ocean of diversities through a process of ‘Hinduisation’. The BJP–RSS hope that if they are able to unite this majority under a Hindu identity, it will enable them to win all Central and State elections and transform India as per their ideology. The political agenda of the BJP–RSS is to undermine the core values of the Indian Constitution—equality, liberty, fraternity and secularism—and transform the country culturally, politically and socially into a Hindu Rashtra. This is the essence of Hindutva, the ideology of the RSS.

A key strategy adopted by the BJP for advancing this agenda is saffronisation of the country’s education system, and use it as a tool to propagate Hindutva.

The Hate Network of RSS Schools

Since its founding a hundred years ago, the most important method used by the RSS for its project of uniting the Hindus has been to rally them against imagined enemies—the minorities, especially Muslims and Christians. In the early decades after independence, when the majority of the adult population was still influenced by the values of the freedom struggle, RSS leaders realised that it would be easier to indoctrinate children with their ideology, and one of the best ways of doing this was through education. And so, the RSS began setting up its own schools. It inaugurated its first school, called Saraswati Shishu Mandir, in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh in 1952. Over the next two decades, its school network grew gradually. By 1977, when the RSS set up Vidya Bharati as its national coordinating body, it had grown to 500 schools with 20,000 students.

In the 1990s, the BJP formed governments in several States, and in 1998, came to power at the Centre. This enabled the RSS to use State patronage to spread its educational network. By 2012–13, Vidya Bharati ran 13,465 schools (mostly primary and middle) with 31.2 lakh students and 1.3 lakh teachers, 49 colleges and training centres, and nearly 10,000 schools providing informal education to 2.4 lakh children unable to attend formal schools (called Sanskar Kendras and Single Teacher Schools). Other RSS fronts providing education include the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (which runs hostels for Adivasi children), Sewa Bharati (for Dalits), and the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, which runs single-teacher pre-school centres.

These schools use everyday rituals to instil Hindutva values in students: teachers are addressed as Acharyas; students touch their feet in respect; classrooms are named after Hindu sages; birthdays of Shivaji, Jijabai, Vivekananda, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Savarkar are celebrated; and children chant shlokas like the Gayatri Mantra during prayers.[45]

These schools indoctrinate students with a highly skewed version of Indian history, that portrays India as an exclusively Hindu nation and equates Indian culture with Hindu culture, thereby denying its rich pluralistic heritage. These distortions include:

1. Claiming Aryans are the original inhabitants of India and founders of Indian civilisation—portrayed as identical to ‘Vedic civilisation’, and dubbed as the world’s oldest. All valuable knowledge and cultural achievements of Indian civilisation are supposed to have their origins in the Vedas. The RSS disregards the contributions of other philosophical, cultural and religious traditions that fall outside the Vedic fold, including Buddhism, Jainism, the Dravidian legacy and the Bhakti movement.
2. The ancient period is called the ‘Hindu period’—a golden age of Indian civilisation—while the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire are labelled as the ‘Muslim period’, with Muslims depicted as foreign invaders. This period is described as a Dark Age, marked by plundering of Hindu wealth, large scale massacres, forced conversions and widespread temple destruction. This narrative erases India’s syncretic cultural heritage and the significant contributions of Muslims and Islam to Indian civilisation.[46] Ironically, this historiography of the RSS was first advanced by British historian James Mill in the early-19^th century. It was Mill who first divided Indian history into Hindu, Muslim and British periods, claiming that Hindus had suffered under Muslim despotism, and that British rule had liberated them from this tyranny.
3. RSS history seeks to erase its own collaboration with the British colonial rule, its opposition to the Constitution and the national flag, and its role in Partition. Instead, it portrays itself as having played in important role in the freedom struggle and its founder Keshavrao B. Hegdewar as a nationalist hero.[47]

Way back in 1993–94, a National Steering Committee on Textbook Evaluation set up by the NCERT, consisting of eminent scholars, found that the textbooks in RSS schools promoted “bigotry and religious fanaticism” in the name of cultural education. [48]

Even before the BJP secured an absolute majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the RSS had already developed an extensive educational infrastructure to propagate its ideology to the young.

Communalisation of the Government School System

With the BJP’s rise to power at the Centre in 1998, the RSS got a golden opportunity to spread its ideology within the government school network. In 2000, the Union HRD Minister released a new National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-2000). It marked a significant shift from NCF-1988, which had stressed democratic values, social justice and national integration through appreciation of cultural diversity. NCF-2000 incorporated content from Vidya Bharati textbooks that promoted hatred towards minorities. Under the guise of value education, it openly introduced Brahmanical religious education content.[49] NCERT history books were revised, and several passages written by eminent secular historians like Romila Thapar, R.S. Sharma and Satish Chandra were deleted.[50] Even natural sciences were undermined with the inclusion of ‘Vedic mathematics’, which scholars note is neither Vedic nor truly mathematics.[51]

After the BJP’s return to power in 2014, the communalisation of the school curriculum has gathered pace. Over the past decade—most notably in 2023—NCERT has repeatedly revised textbooks, deleting sentences, paragraphs, images, and in many cases, even entire chapters. These changes will have a far-reaching impact on the education of lakhs of children, as NCERT textbooks are used in over 24,000 CBSE-affiliated schools and adopted by at least 19 school boards across 14 States. Some examples of these changes are given below:

• Medieval History: Several pages on the Delhi Sultanate (Mamluks, Tughlaqs, Khaljis, Lodis) and key sections on the Mughal Empire have been removed from the Class 7 and 12 History textbooks. These deletions imply that students will remain ignorant of the syncretic culture that emerged in medieval India from the blending of indigenous and Islamic traditions, which led to great advancements in art, literature, music and architecture, paralleled by considerable economic growth.
• Modern History: Two chapters—Colonial Cities: Urbanisation, Planning and Architecture, and Understanding Partition: Politics, Memories, Experiences—have been deleted from the Class 12 History textbook.
• Mahatma Gandhi: Important references to Gandhiji’s efforts to promote Hindu–Muslim unity, his role in calming the violence after Partition, as well as the opposition he faced from Hindu extremists—who made multiple attempts on his life—have been removed from the Class 12 Political Science textbook. Also deleted are passages that mention the RSS’s role in spreading communal hatred and the ban imposed on it following Gandhi’s assassination.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: References to Maulana Azad—freedom fighter, close associate of Gandhiji, Constituent Assembly member and India’s first education minister—have been removed from the Class 11 Political Science textbook.
• Emergency: Passages describing the abuse of power during the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi Government have been deleted from the Class 12 Political Science and Sociology textbooks.
• Popular Movements: A chapter, Rise of Popular Movements, covering people’s movements like Chipko (Uttarakhand), Dalit Panthers (Maharashtra), Bharatiya Kisan Union-led farmer struggles, women-led anti-arrack campaigns (Andhra Pradesh), Narmada Bachao Andolan and the RTI movement, has been dropped from the Class 12 Political Science textbook.
• 2002 Gujarat Riots: All references to these riots have been dropped from the Class 12 Political Science and Sociology textbooks.
• Preamble to the Constitution: This has been dropped from several Class 3 and Class 6 textbooks.
• Democracy: Four chapters introducing students to democracy have been deleted, including a chapter in Class 6 that introduces students to the concept of democracy, a chapter in Class 8 that talks of framing of the Constitution and the making of linguistic States, and two chapters in Class 10—one discusses race and caste social divisions and inequalities in the world, and the second is on reforming democratic politics.
• Equality: An imaginary narrative illustrating discrimination faced by a domestic worker, a Dalit writer and a Muslim couple has been removed from the Class 7 Political Science textbook. Also deleted is the chapter Struggles for Equality from the Class 7 Social Science textbook that informed students about famous struggles for equality such as the women’s empowerment movement. Considerable deletions have been made in textbooks from Classes 6 to 12 related to injustices of the caste system and the hereditary nature of the varna system. Examples showing how untouchability still operates in everyday life have been removed from the Class 12 Sociology textbook.
• Poverty: An entire chapter on poverty has been dropped from the Class 11 Economics textbook, depriving students of exposure to a critical issue in our social and economic system.[52]
• Foundational Scientific Principles:
• Darwin’s theory of evolution has been removed from Class 9 and 10 textbooks, following a claim by the junior HRD minister Satyapal Singh that it was “scientifically wrong.” Even though it has been retained in Class 11, most students don’t study science beyond Class 10 and so they will miss exposure to this foundational concept. More than 4,500 scientists, teachers and science communicators opposed this deletion, saying that this will seriously handicap students in their thought process as the theory of evolution is the cornerstone of scientific and rational thinking.
• A chapter on the Periodic Table has been removed from the Class 10 Science textbook—that makes students aware of life’s fundamental building blocks.[53]

BJP-led State governments are also making changes in school textbooks. Here are some key changes made to school textbooks in Rajasthan after the BJP won the 2013 Assembly elections:

• A Class 6 story, Mundmaal, praises the banned practice of sati. Across classes, textbooks reinforce gender roles—girls are rarely shown playing sports but are often shown fetching water or cooking.
• Muslims, Christians and other minorities are largely absent from textbooks. Textbooks subtly promote the Hindu majoritarian perspective among students. Thus:
  • In Class 1, words like rishi, rath, yajna and trishul are used to teach the Hindi alphabet.
  • Class 5 features a letter in which the cow (Kamadhenu Gaumata) declares herself a purveyor of “strength, wisdom, longevity, health, happiness, prosperity and glory”.
  • Class 8 textbook calls Somnath temple’s reconstruction Sardar Patel’s greatest contribution.
  • Not a single Muslim is included in the 15 personalities listed in the Hamare Gaurav sections of Class 3–5 Environmental Science textbooks.
• The Class 6 Social Science book claims that caste was originally based on professions and not linked to birth, and that there was no bar on sharing food or marriage between castes, nor did untouchability exist.
• The Class 6 History book describes the Saraswati River as real, on whose banks the Vedas were composed. It portrays the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as historical events, and claims that the Pandavas spent their exile in Matsya mahajanapada and Shri Ram ruled over Kaushal mahajanapada (both described as ancient Indian kingdoms).
• A Class 10 textbook now teaches that Maharana Pratap conclusively defeated Mughal Emperor Akbar at Haldighati.
• Science is explained through stories from Indian mythology. A Class 4 lesson links lotus to goddess Saraswati; a Class 6 geography lesson includes a story about Dhruva Tara from Hindu religious texts while discussing the pole star; Class 7 lessons on water and Earth begin with an elaboration of their significance in Hindu religious rituals; and all Class 3–8 maths textbooks include chapters on ‘Vedic Mathematics’, described by scholars as mere calculation tricks.[54]

In Gujarat, where the BJP has ruled since 1998, the State government has introduced nine supplementary books in schools that promote Bharatiya Sanskriti (Indian culture) and a ‘Hindu’ code of conduct. These books are by RSS ideologue Dinanath Batra and have been endorsed by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. They contain stories such as one in which worshipping cows enabled a king to have several children. They also make claims that numerous scientific inventions were made by Indian rishis in ancient India: the 100 Kauravas were test tube babies, proving that stem cell research originated in India; cars and television existed in the Vedic era; and the Pushpak Viman was the first airplane in the world. They advocate daily visits to RSS shakhas and blame communists and Orientalists for India’s “bad” education system.[55]

Notes:

44. Nalini Taneja, “BJP’s Assault on Education and Educational Institutions”, http://archive.cpiml.org.
45. Nandini Sundar, “Teaching to Hate”, Economic and Political Weekly, 17 April 2004, http://www.epw.in. See also: http://vidyabharati.net/ statistics.php.
46. Irfan Habib, “The Rewriting of History”, 13 February 2002, http://www.outlookindia.com; Romila Thapar, The Past as Present, Aleph Book Company, New Delhi, 2014.
47. Shamsul Islam, Undoing India the RSS Way, Media House, Delhi, 2002; In the Name of History: Examples from Hindutva-Inspired School Textbooks in India, http://www.sacw.net.
48. Aditya Mukherjee et al., RSS, School Texts and the Murder of Mahatma Gandhi, SAGE Publications, New Delhi, 2008, pp. 17–43, https://books.google.co.in.
49. Ibid.; Hiren Gohain, “On Saffronisation of Education”, Economic and Political Weekly, 16 November 2002, http://www.epw.in.
50. Nalini Taneja, “Historians Protest Deletions in NCERT Texts”, 9 December 2001, https://archives.peoplesdemocracy.in
51. Stop This Fraud on Our Children: Scientists Protest Against Vedic Mathematics and Astrology in School Curriculum, http://www.sahmat.org.
52. This has been compiled from the following newsreports: Ritika Chopra, “In NCERT Textbook Trim: Mughal Era, Delhi Sultanate, Emergency Impact and 2002 Riots”, 7 April 2023, https://indianexpress.com; “Historians Condemn Key Deletions from NCERT Textbooks”, 8 April 2023, https://www.thehindu.com; “Historical’ Changes: Here is What the NCERT has Dropped from Text Books”, 5 April 2023, https://www.business-standard.com; “Mughals, RSS, Evolution: Outrage as India Edits School Textbooks”, 14 April 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com; Ritika Chopra, “Express Investigation, Part 1: From Emergency to Gujarat Riots, Lessons of Past Deleted from Textbooks of Future”, 18 June 2022, and “Express Investigation, Part 2: Key Deletions on Caste, Minorities in Revised School Textbooks”, 19 June 2022, https://indianexpress.com; Basant Kumar Mohanty, “Preamble to the Constitution Dropped from Several Class III and VI Textbooks”, 5 August 2024, https://www.telegraphindia.com; “Lesson on Poverty Dropped from I PU NCERT Economics Textbook”, 6 April 2023, https://www.thehindu.com.
53. “NCERT Drops Chapters on Evolution, Periodic Table, Democracy from Class 10 Textbooks”, 1 June 2023, https://scroll.in.
54. Shreya Roy Chowdhury, “BJP’s Major Achievement in Rajasthan: Rewriting School Textbooks to Reflect RSS Worldview”, 14 November 2018, https://scroll.in; “Rajasthan Rewrites History: Maharana Pratap, Not Akbar, Won Battle of Haldighati”, 25 July 2017, https://www.indiatoday.in.
55. Anupama Katakam, “Distorted Lessons”, Frontline, 22 August 2014, http://www.frontline.in; Anil Dharker, “Bharat by Batra & Co.”, 30 July 2014, http://www.deccanchronicle.com.; “Apathy for Truth”, 13 August 2014, https://www.deccanherald.com.

[Neeraj Jain is a social activist and writer. He is the convenor of Lokayat, an activist group based in Pune. He is also the editor of Janata Weekly, India’s oldest socialist magazine. He has authored several books, including Globalisation or Recolonisation?, Education Under Globalisation: Burial of the Constitutional Dream, Nuclear Energy: Technology from Hell, and most recently, Union Budgets 2014-24: An Analysis.]