The latest edition of the Class 11 political science textbook, published by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), reportedly has no mention of India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. In addition, a reference to Jammu and Kashmir's conditional accession has also been deleted from the textbook, according to a report by The Hindu.
In the previous version of the Class 11 textbook, the first chapter had mentioned that during the Constituent Assembly, important committees were chaired by prominent individuals such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, or BR Ambedkar, who collaborated despite their differences. The revised version, however, states that the committees were usually chaired by Nehru, Prasad, Patel, or Ambedkar, with no mention of Maulana Azad. The glaring omission has caused concern among educators and politicians, who point out that Azad was a prominent figure in India's struggle for independence and played a crucial role in shaping the country's education system.
Furthermore, in the revised edition's 10th chapter, titled ‘The Philosophy of the Constitution’, a paragraph explaining that Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India was based on a pledge to uphold its autonomy under Article 370 of the Constitution has been removed. This section of the textbook has been a topic of controversy in recent years, with some arguing that it promotes a separatist agenda, while others believe that it is an accurate reflection of the region's history.
The Indian government had revoked Article 370 on August 5, 2019, dividing the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories: Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Only Jammu and Kashmir has a legislature. The Union government also nullified Article 35A, which granted specific rights and privileges to individuals classified as “permanent residents” of Jammu and Kashmir. Consequently, the area has been under the direct administration of the Union government.
These exclusions are the most recent ones to be discovered in the controversies surrounding numerous alterations made to NCERT textbooks, which are included in the syllabus of most government as well as Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools. When the NCERT published a “list of rationalised content” in June, no reference was made to the decision to remove the paragraphs regarding Azad and Kashmir.
Earlier in 2022, the Ministry of Minority Affairs discontinued the Maulana Azad Fellowship, which had provided financial assistance for five years to students from six notified minorities — Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims, Parsis, and Sikhs — to pursue MPhil and PhD. This deletion is particularly striking given that Azad was independent India's first Education Minister and played a prominent role in advocating for critical reforms such as free and compulsory primary education for all children up to the age of 14. Azad was also a key founding member of the Jamia Millia Islamia, several Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, and the School of Planning and Architecture. He was also posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in the year 1992.
The NCERT has not yet commented on the changes made to the textbook or provided any explanation for the removal of Azad's name or the paragraph on Jammu and Kashmir. However, the development has sparked a debate on the role of education in shaping the nation's identity, and the need for accurate and comprehensive information to be provided to students.