Terrorist attacks launched against India with the support of the Pakistan army preventing normal relations between the two countries, “heightened tensions” with China, and cultural ties with other countries in the neighbourhood are part of the new class 7 NCERT social science textbook released last week.
The book, ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’, part 2, features a chapter on ‘India and Her Neighbours’, which was not included in the old edition. Earlier, NCERT had three separate books for social science in class 7, for history, social and political life, and geography. With the new books released this year, class 7 will use two social science books which touch on all three themes. Part 1 of the social science book was released earlier this year.
On India’s relations with Pakistan, the book notes: “Before the 1947 Partition – a legacy of the colonial era that continues to shape the present – Pakistan was a part of India. Let us note for now that Pakistan was founded on religious basis, unlike India; this will be explored further in Grade 8. Suffice to say that these nations share one of the most complex relationships in South Asia.”
“Since the Partition, several military conflicts and wars, including wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971, and full-scale conflicts like the Kargil War in 1999, have defined an ongoing tension. In particular, frequent terrorist attacks launched against India with the support of the Pakistan army have prevented normal relations between the two countries,” it said.
On China, it refers to “heightened tensions” with the country in recent years, mostly related to shared borders, and a few serious conflicts. “On the other hand, efforts are being made to resolve disputes through trade, dialogue and border resolution mechanisms,” it explained.
It points to Afghanistan as having once shared a direct land border with India.
“However, the creation of Pakistan in 1947 has complicated access between the two countries. Despite these geopolitical challenges, India and Afghanistan have, by and large, maintained close and friendly ties rooted in shared history and culture, besides significant strategic interests,” it stated.
“Before the spread of Islam in the 7th century CE, Afghanistan was a thriving centre of Buddhist and Hindu culture. Kingdoms like Kapisha and Zabul mirrored Indian systems of governance,” it added.
It also pointed out that in recent decades, India and Afghanistan have continued to share strong people-to-people ties, and that India has supported education, healthcare and infrastructure development in Afghanistan.
The class 9 geography textbook which is in use — new books for class 9 have not been released yet — has a few paragraphs on India’s neighbours. It names the country’s neighbours, and says that India has had strong geographical and historical links with them.
The chapter also elaborates on ties with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, and ‘India’s maritime neighbours’ — Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran and Oman.
The NCERT has been developing new textbooks in line with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023. New books for classes 1 to 8 have been released so far.
