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We were Chief Advisors for the NCERT text books of political science prepared and originally published in 2006-07 for classes IX to XII. Through a very enriching and valuable collaboration with colleagues across the country, we were able to put together six textbooks as per NCF 2005.Of late, we have been coming across detailed news reports of the many modifications made to these textbooks. While the modifications have been justified on the grounds of 'rationalization, we fail to see any pedagogic rationale at work here. We find that the text has been mutilated beyond recognition.
There are innumerable and irrational cuts and large deletions, often without any attempt to fill the gaps thus created. We were never consulted or even informed of these changes. If NCERT did consult other experts for deciding on these cuts and deletions, we explicitly state that we fully disagree with them in this regard. We believe that any text has an internal logic and such arbitrary cuts and deletions violate the spirit of the text.
The frequent and serial deletions do not seem to have any logic except to please the powers that be. Text books cannot and should not be shaped in this blatantly partisan manner and should not quell the spirit of critique and questioning among students of social sciences.These textbooks as they stand now do not serve the purpose of training students of political science both the principles of politics and the broad patterns of political dynamics that have occurred over time.
As academics originally associated with the preparation of these text books, we feel embarrassed that our names should be mentioned as Chief Advisors to these mutilated and academically dysfunctional textbooks. We wish to explicitly record our full disagreement with the entire process of re-shaping the text in the name of rationalization.
Both of us would like to dissociate ourselves from these textbooks and request the NCERT to drop our names as 'chief advisors' from all Political Science Textbooks of classes IX, X, XI and XII mentioned in the Letter to the Students' and also in the list of Textbook Development Team at the beginning of each textbook.
We request you to give effect to this request immediately and ensure that our names are not used in the soft copies of the textbooks available at NCERT website as also in the subsequent print editions.
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