- NCERT praises EC as autonomous body ensuring free and fair polls
- New Class 9 textbook supports SIR as a tool to update, verify voter rolls
- The book highlights EC's use of EVMs, VVPATs, and voter awareness campaigns
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has praised the Election Commission (EC)'s role in managing polls in a new textbook that is expected to become another flashpoint between the government and the opposition.
The NCERT's social science book for Class 9 describes the EC as an autonomous body that ensures "free and fair elections" in the country and that no eligible voter is left out. It is learnt that the new textbook also backs the Special Intensive Revision, a process meant to clean voter rolls of duplicate and dead voters.
The new additions defy the opposition parties' concerns over the fairness of the voting process and the SIR. The Congress had also alleged that SIR was being used for vote theft.
Read: NCERT Adds 'Emergency' To Class 9 Textbook, Terms It 'Challenge To Democracy'
A day earlier, it was reported that the NCERT had added a section on Emergency, a move that the government said would make the future generations prevent the repeat of such a "dark deed".
What The NCERT Book Says On EC
The new textbook, "Understanding Society: India and Beyond", calls the electoral process "unparalleled" and highlights the EC's role in managing voter rolls, conducting elections, and ensuring democratic participation.
In a special section, it described the SIR as a tool to update, verify, and correct electoral rolls. The exercise helps add new voters and removes those who have died, changed address, or are duplicate names or have other discrepancies, it said.
The book also highlights safeguards such as EVMs, VVPATs, the model code of conduct, and other voter awareness campaigns.
As part of classroom activities, students are also asked to explore coalition politics by identifying alliances that formed governments after the Lok Sabha elections in the past few decades.
Opposition Criticism Of NCERT
The Opposition is yet to speak on the EC bit in the NCERT book. It, however, was quick to criticise the section on Emergency. NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule had said it was "sad" that politics was being brought into teaching and learning.
The government justified as a necessary step that would teach the future generations about the "dark deeds of Emergency".
Read: After 'Dancing Girl' Image Draws Attention, Here's What NCERT Director Said
"NCERT has done the right thing. Future generations should know and understand the dark deeds of the Emergency so that such a situation does not arise again. That is why NCERT brought it to the forefront. NCERT did a good job," Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said yesterday.
Recently, a row had erupted over an altered image of the famous "Dancing Girl" sculpture from the Indus Valley Civilisation in the NCERT's arts edication textbook.
While the original figures has been depicted over the years with a bare torso, the new textbook shades it from shoulders downward, making it appear as though it is wearing clothes.
