New Delhi- Prominent scholars Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar have once again called on the NCERT to remove their names from all Political Science textbooks for classes IX, X, XI, and XII.

In a recent letter to NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Yadav and Palshikar reiterated their original request from June 8, 2023, which has yet to be addressed.

In their initial communication, the scholars asked the NCERT to "drop our names as 'chief advisors' from all Political Science textbooks" and to ensure that their names were not used in the digital versions on the NCERT website or in future print editions.

This request was subsequently supported by a majority of scholars from the Textbook Development Team in Political Science.

Despite these clear and repeated requests, the NCERT has continued to publish and distribute new editions of these textbooks without removing the scholars' names.

"We are shocked to discover that more than a year after our original request, the NCERT has gone ahead to publish and distribute the new edition of these six textbooks without removing our names from the publications that we do not wish to be associated with," Yadav and Palshikar stated in their recent letter.

The scholars have expressed deep concern over what they describe as "indiscriminate distortion" of the textbooks. They allege that the NCERT has engaged in selective deletions and significant additions and rewritings that deviate from the original content's spirit. Yadav and Palshikar, who served as Chief Advisors for the original textbooks, have condemned these changes as "unethical, unacademic, and illegal."

"If the NCERT now finds these textbooks inappropriate, it is well within its rights to withdraw them and publish new textbooks. But the NCERT has no moral or legal right to distort these textbooks without consulting any of us and yet publish these under our names despite our explicit refusal," the scholars argued.

They further criticized the NCERT for allegedly using their names to endorse textbooks they believe are "politically biased, academically indefensible, and pedagogically dysfunctional."

Reiterating their demand, Yadav and Palshikar have called for the immediate removal of their names from all relevant textbooks and for the withdrawal of the new editions published with their names. They have warned that failure to take immediate corrective action may compel them to pursue legal recourse.

This renewed demand highlights ongoing tensions between the NCERT and academic scholars over the integrity and authorship of educational content, raising significant concerns about the management of educational resources and intellectual property rights.

Notably, in June 2023, 33 eminent academicians, including a scholar from Singapore, had collectively withdrawn their names from the textbooks developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). 

The academicians, who were actively involved in the production of political science textbooks, expressed their dismay and growing alarm over NCERT's unilateral attempts to modify and revise the collaborative work of scholars from across the country.

These textbooks aimed to impart knowledge about India's freedom struggle, the constitutional order, the role of leaders and movements, the dynamics of the democratic republic, and other relevant political science subjects.

Among the academicians who have withdrawn their names from the Textbook Development Committee includes Peter Ronald deSouza, Former director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study Shimla, Prof Sanjay Lodha, Muzaffar Assadi, Dean Faculty of Arts, University of Mysore, Kanti Prasad Bajpai, National University, Singapore, Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, Rajeev Bhargava, CSDS, Delhi, Dwaipayan Bhattacharya, CPS, JNU, New Delhi, Navnita Chadha Behera, University of Delhi, Akhil Ranjan Dutta from Guwahati, Alex M George - Kerala, Kailash KK and Manjari Katju- Hyderabad University, Shailendra Kharat from Savitri Bai Phule Pune University, Nivedita Menon etc.