There was a lot of discussion about changing the name of the country during the G20 Summit 2023. It was said that 'Bharat' would be written instead of India. In the invitation to G20, the President wrote Bharat instead of India. Then during the G20, 'Bharat' was also written on the nameplate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After that a special session of Parliament was called and then the discussion gained momentum. However, nothing like this happened. Now it has been recommended to change the name of the country in school books. This is what the high level committee of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has recommended. Committee chairperson CI Isaac told the media that India should be removed from the school curriculum to 'Bharat'. Another recommendation has been to remove Ancient History from the curriculum and teach 'Classical History' in its place.
Isaac said that the seven-member committee has made this recommendation unanimously. He said that Bharat is an age old name. The name Bharat is used in ancient texts like Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old. Isaac said, 'The word India came into common use only after the establishment of the East India Company and the Battle of Plassey in 1757.' Therefore, the committee has unanimously suggested that the name Bharat should be used instead of India in the books of all classes.
The name Bharat was officially written for the first time during the G20 summit. In the dinner invite given by President Draupadi Murmu, instead of ‘President of India’, ‘President of Bharat’ was written. Opposition parties created a lot of noise on this. Then 'Bharat' was also seen written on PM Modi's nameplate from the G20 platform.
Isaac said that NCERT had formed 25 committees to prepare papers on various subjects in 2021. His committee is also one of these. This committee has recommended the inclusion of 'Classical History' instead of 'Ancient History' in the textbooks. He said that 'the British divided Indian history into three phases - ancient, medieval and modern, in which India was shown in darkness, ignorant of scientific knowledge and progress. However, many examples of India's achievements in that era include Aryabhata's work on the solar system model.
Isaac further said the committee has also recommended highlighting 'Hindu victories' in textbooks. Isaac is also a member of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Furthermore, the committee has also recommended inclusion of Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in the curriculum of all subjects.
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