MUMBAI: The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), a deemed-to-be university, will organise a national-level brainstorming session on the preparation of social science textbooks, following repeated concerns raised over the content of such books across the country. The institute said it would bring together experts to discuss how textbooks could be made more balanced and inclusive.
“The idea is to create a platform where academic experts and textbook developers can exchange views and suggest improvements,” said vice-chancellor Badrinarayan Tiwari. “In many countries, such matters are resolved within the academic community. In India, they often reach the courts. As a social science institute, we feel there is a need to address this through academic discussion.”
Textbooks brought out by the government’s National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) have been in the spotlight in recent years, with several instances of political revisionism that caused a stir. The deletions included portions of Mughal history, references to the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Babri Masjid demolition, the name of M K Gandhi’s murderer Nathuram Godse, and even Darwin’s theory of evolution. Two months ago, a Class 8 textbook even had a chapter on judicial corruption that was promptly banned by the Supreme Court.
TISS plans to organise a symposium with members from national- and state-level textbook committees, including those associated with NCERT, and various state boards. Educationists and subject experts will also be invited to contribute to the discussion. The aim is not to design textbooks but to develop guiding principles that textbook creators can follow in future.
Tiwari said the focus would be on ensuring that social science textbooks presented multiple perspectives. “Our goal is to make textbooks more inclusive and comprehensive so that they represent all aspects of society,” he said. “TISS will prepare broad guidelines that can help in improving the quality of and approach to textbook writing.”
The VC was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the institute’s 85th annual convocation held on Saturday. The ceremony was attended by Karnataka governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, who delivered the convocation address, and Chancellor D P Singh and other senior TISS officials.
Alongside this initiative, the institute is also planning to set up a Viksit Bharat Centre on its campus. According to Tiwari, the centre will focus on policy-related research and act as a bridge between academic work and government decision-making. The centre will have fellows who will coordinate research activities across the institute and compile findings that can be shared with policy-makers. “A lot of research happens in universities, but it does not always reach the government,” said Tiwari. “Through this centre, we want to contribute to policy-making using academic research. The centre will get three full-time fellows who will work on this.”
A total of 1,080 students attended the convocation, including 97 doctoral scholars, one MPhil student, and 982 students who had completed their Bachelors and Masters degrees. The event brought together students, faculty, and guests to mark the completion of their academic programmes.
