Hyderabad: The National Council of Educational Research and Training, or NCERT, has introduced a chapter on the Emergency in its Class 9 Social Science textbook for the first time, nearly 50 years after the 1975 proclamation that marked one of the most controversial phases in independent India’s political history.
The new textbook, titled Understanding Society: India and Beyond, presents the Emergency as a major challenge to India’s democratic system and includes it in a chapter that examines both the strengths and strains of democracy. The move comes in the year that marks 50 years since the Emergency was imposed in June 1975.
NCERT officials said this is the first time the Emergency has been formally included in a Class 9 Social Science textbook, making the subject part of an early school level discussion on democracy, constitutional values and civil liberties.
Emergency chapter in Class 9 textbook focuses on democracy and civil liberties
According to the textbook, the Emergency was declared in June 1975 on the ground of internal disturbance, after a period of rising public anger over unemployment, inflation and governance issues. It says the 21 month period that followed saw the suspension of several constitutional freedoms, censorship of the press and the detention of opposition leaders and activists.
The chapter also highlights the role of veteran leader Jayaprakash Narayan in mobilising public opposition to the Emergency. It notes that student and citizen movements in Bihar and Gujarat played an important role in building a wider campaign for democratic reform during that period.
The textbook says the Emergency was withdrawn in 1977, after which general elections were held. It presents the election outcome as evidence of the resilience of India’s democratic system, with voters using the ballot to bring about political change.
Apart from the Emergency, the revised Class 9 Social Science textbook discusses other challenges facing democracy, including misinformation, fake news, poverty, regional divides, social discrimination and gender inequality. A separate section titled Democracy and You has also been added to encourage students to understand democratic values and their role as active citizens.
The book also covers India’s democratic institutions, voter participation, the role of the media, polling systems and grassroots democracy through panchayats. It includes sections on women’s voting rights and reservations in local bodies as part of a broader effort to make democracy more relevant to students’ everyday understanding of society.
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