I&B Min, MeitY asked to stop dissemination of contentious NCERT book via digital platforms, media

The Union Ministry of Education on Thursday wrote to the ministries of information and broadcasting, and electronics, asking them to stop the dissemination of a controversial NCERT textbook through digital platforms and electronic media, officials said.

The directive comes after the Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a “complete blanket ban” on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the NCERT’s Class 8 social science book as it contained “offending” contents on corruption in the judiciary, saying “a gunshot has been fired and the institution is bleeding”.

“While removal of physical textbooks and stoppage of their re-printing is being done by the NCERT and allied agencies, their dissemination through digital platforms and electronic media has to be stopped by the competent authorities — the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,” the letter said.

Earlier in the day, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed anguish over the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) coming up with a chapter on judicial corruption in its Class 8 textbook, promising to fix accountability and take action against those involved in drafting the controversial portion.

Pradhan’s remarks came on a day the Supreme Court observed that there appeared to be a “well-orchestrated conspiracy” to defame the judiciary.

It imposed a “complete blanket ban” on the Class 8 NCERT book and ordered that all copies of it, physical and digital, be seized.

The NCERT’s social science textbook for Class 8 stated that corruption, a massive backlog of cases and the lack of an adequate number of judges were among the challenges faced by the judicial system.

After stern words by the Supreme Court that it will not allow “anyone on Earth” to tarnish the judiciary’s integrity, the NCERT pulled the textbook from its website, with sources saying the government was livid with the controversial references in the book.

The NCERT on Wednesday also apologised for the “inappropriate content” after facing the Supreme Court’s ire over the chapter, and said the book will be rewritten in consultation with appropriate authorities. PTI