Now Reading: Opposition questions NCERT panel over RSS, ABVP links
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Opposition questions NCERT panel over RSS, ABVP links
The reconstitution of the NCERT Textbook Development Team for Class 11 and 12 Political Science has triggered a political controversy. The New Indian Express reports that opposition parties including the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), Congress, and NSUI have raised concerns over the composition of the 20-member panel, alleging that at least four members have direct or indirect links with the RSS and its student wing ABVP. Critics fear ideological affiliations could influence how political science topics such as secularism, federalism, and fundamental rights are presented to students.
NewsGram adds that the panel has been asked to include themes of cultural rootedness and the Indian knowledge system in the revised textbooks. The team is headed by political scientist Dr. Sandeep Shastri. According to a PTI report cited by NewsGram, the four members with RSS/ABVP links include Yadunath Deshpande, Prashant Dibekar, Vandana Mishra, and Ravi Rameshchandra Shukla. The panel must submit the Class 11 textbook by November 2026 and the Class 12 textbook by July 2027.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The New Indian Express leads with opposition accusations of turning NCERT into an 'ideological laboratory', using charged language like 'Sanghikaran' and 'Nagpur Coterie', while NewsGram foregrounds the panel's mandate for 'cultural rootedness' and lists members' RSS/ABVP affiliations as a factual observation rather than a controversy. The Express omits the panel's head and deadlines, focusing entirely on political pushback, NewsGram gives those details but leaves out the opposition's strongest rhetorical attacks. The middle-ground reading: the panel includes people with clear RSS/ABVP backgrounds, but their influence on the final textbooks cannot be judged until the drafts are submitted in 2026-27. Watch for the Class 11 textbook submission deadline of November 2026.
Coverage: 2 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral
Sources (2): newindianexpress.com (government critical), newsgram.com (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
