# NCERT reconstitutes political science panel with four RSS-linked members 2026-08-20T05:15:46+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets NCERT has reconstituted a 20-member panel to write new Political Science textbooks for Classes 11 and 12 under NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023. At least four members have links to the RSS or its affiliates ABVP and Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, India Today reports. The panel must make Indian Knowledge Systems and cultural rootedness cross-cutting themes. The Congress student wing NSUI has criticised the panel, alleging it compromises academic neutrality. NSUI president Vinod Jakhar demanded the team be dissolved and reconstituted with independent educationists, and that draft textbooks undergo public review, as reported by Siasat.com and the Economic Times. The Class 11 textbook is due by November 30, 2026, the Class 12 textbook by July 30, 2027. ## Indian Opinion Analysis India Today reports the panel reconstitution as a factual move to implement NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023, naming the four RSS-linked members without editorialising beyond their bios. Siasat.com and the Economic Times focus heavily on NSUI’s criticism, foregrounding accusations of compromised academic neutrality and the demand for dissolution. India Today omits the NSUI protest entirely. The critical outlets frame the panel as ideologically skewed, India Today implies it is a routine academic process. A careful reader should note that no outlet reports an actual change in textbook content, nor any government comment on the NSUI’s allegations. The key date remains November 30, 2026, when the Class 11 draft is due. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 2 government-critical, 1 neutral - indiatoday.in (neutral report) Reports panel formation factually, names RSS links without commentary, omits NSUI criticism entirely. - siasat.com (government critical) Leads with NSUI criticism, foregrounds accusation of ideological bias and demands for panel dissolution. - economictimes.indiatimes.com (government critical) Leads with NSUI criticism, highlights alleged lack of neutrality and ideological diversity concerns. This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-20T06:24:39+00:00. Tags: ABVP, D P Saklani, NCERT, NCF-SE 2023, NEP 2020, RSS Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ncert-names-new-political-science-panel-with-4-rss-linked-members/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ncert-names-new-political-science-panel-with-4-rss-linked-members/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/