NCERT’s new Class 8 textbook highlights India’s revolutionaries and freedom fighters

AYoung division 8 societal scientific discipline text, published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), trains the focus on “freedom fighters” and “revolutionaries” such as Birsa Munda, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Rani Gaidinliu and VD Savarkar.The history chapter of Part 2 of the NCERT social science textbook also highlighted several freedom fighters, tribal leaders, reformers and nationalist thinkers, including Rani Gaidinliu. It also references the Paika Rebellion of 1817 in Odisha.The book also highlights the treatment the revolutionaries faced at the Cellular Jail — also known as “Kala Pani”— a colonial prison.“The Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands was a huge colonial prison used by the British to exile and isolate revolutionaries, far from the mainland. Known as ‘Kala Pani’ (’Black Water’), it was designed specifically for solitary confinement and used to break the spirit of freedom fighters. Prisoners faced horrific conditions, including extreme physical labour-such as extracting oil by hand-and brutal punishment for the slightest disobedience,” said the book, released on Monday.“A few revolutionaries who were imprisoned there, such as Barindra Ghose or V.D. Savarkar, left vivid descriptions of forced labour and ill-treatment of the prisoners. Many of them died and some lost their sanity. Those who tried to escape were hanged. The jail became a symbol of ultimate sacrifice in India’s struggle for freedom.”NCERT has released new textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 which are aligned with the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment guiding document National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.NCERT’s social science curricular area group head Michel Danino said that “in some sense, and in hindsight, nearly every freedom fighter can be called ‘controversial’ or be subjected to criticism. Such “post-facto critiques,” he noted, may be suitable for UG or PG courses that allow “lengthy discussions based on extensive data,” but “have no place in school textbooks.”He added that NCERT’s responsibility is “not to pass judgement” but to “strike a balance” between the different approaches and methods adopted during the freedom struggle, even when they diverged from one another.The history chapter in the new book features Swami Vivekananda’s speech at the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. It also highlights the role of early resistance groups like the Kuka Movement led by Baba Ram Singh in the freedom struggle. Tribal revolts under Birsa Munda, revolutionary actions by the Chapekar brothers, and the Swadeshi push by Jamsetji Tata are also discussed. The book states that nationalist thought was spread through the newspaper Bande Mataram started by Bipin Chandra Pal and later led by Aurobindo Ghose. Women’s participation in the freedom struggle is highlighted through Bina Das, who attempted to assassinate the governor of Bengal in 1931.It further acknowledges freedom fighters such as Alluri Sitarama Raju, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Rani Gaidinliu, and Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, showing the diverse and collective nature of India’s freedom movement. The chapter also includes the 1817 Paika Rebellion, a major armed uprising against British East India Company rule in Odisha.Apart from history, the book covers geography, Indian architecture and cultural traditions, the role of the judiciary, citizens’ rights and duties, population studies, and India’s urban development. It also includes a chapter on cultural developments from the 13th to 17th centuries, along with reference sections.NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani in the foreword of the book said, “....The text integrates the values we desire our students to develop, is rooted in the Indian cultural context and introduces global perspectives in an age-appropriate manner.”