New NCERT Textbook Refers To Harappan Society As ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation’

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released the Class 6 Social Science textbook named ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond,’ which mentioned the Harappan Society as the ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation.’

“Archaeologists gave this civilisation several names – ‘Indus,’ ‘Harappan,’ ‘Indus-Sarasvati,’ or ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’ civilisation. We will use all these terms. Its inhabitants are called ‘Harappans.’ It is one of the oldest civilisations in the world,” as per Unit 6 of the textbook, The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation.

The unit also mentioned the Sarasvati River in a sub-header. The river today goes by the name ‘Ghaggar’ in India, and in Pakistan, it is known as ‘Hakra,’ the book describes. It is written in the book about the mentioning of the Sarasvati River in the ‘Rig Veda.’

The NCERT, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education responsible for developing educational materials, has revised the curriculum of the school textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Earlier in June, NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani asserted that the revision of the books is a global and annual exercise and the changes are advocated by subject and pedagogy experts. The changes were being made as many subjects had become irrelevant and there was a need for a new update in the books. He also emphasized that there is no interference or imposition from the top officials in this process.

Mr. Saklani further said, “Some changes have happened because the subjects were irrelevant, some to update new information, while several topics were removed earlier to minimize the burden on students caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and reduce duplication of content.”