The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) does not distinguish between India and Bharat, and in due manner, admits the spirit enshrined in the Constitution that recognises both names, the Union Ministry of Education informed Parliament. In response to questions posed by CPI(M) member Elamaram Kareem and CPI's Sandosh Kumar in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi stated that the Constitution of India recognizes both 'India' and 'Bharat' as official names of the country. Therefore, the NCERT panel's recommendations to replace 'India' with 'Bharat' in textbooks do not differentiate between the two names and duly acknowledge the core constitutional values. Article 1 of the Constitution of India states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States". The names 'India' and 'Bharat' can be used interchangeably. She mentioned that "As a country, we are moving away from colonial rule and also encouraged the use of Indian languages".
The minister also stated that "NCERT, an independent body under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, is involved in the preparation of school curriculum and textbooks and will continue to do so".In October, a high-level committee for social sciences, which was formed by the NCERT to revise the school curriculum, recommended replacing the name "India" with "Bharat" in textbooks. This suggestion initiated a political controversy, with the Opposition accusing the government of electoral gimmicks. They suggested that the name change was inspired by the 26-party grouping that opposes the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) calling themselves the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
The NCERT has clarified that they have not made any decision regarding the recommendations of the panel. They have declared that the development of new syllabus and textbooks is still in progress, and for this purpose, various curricular area groups of discipline experts are being informed. Therefore, they believe it will be too early to comment on the matter at this stage.
