No point out of caste-based discrimination can be among the many adjustments.

New Delhi:

India had a major meridian of its personal a lot forward of the Greenwich meridian and it was known as “madhya rekha”, which handed by means of the town of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, in accordance with a brand new Class-6 NCERT textbook for social science.

No point out of caste-based discrimination, tweaks in references to B R Ambedkar’s expertise concerning the discrimination, referring to the Harappan civilisation as “Sindhu-Sarasvati” are additionally among the many adjustments within the textbook developed in accordance with a brand new curriculum.

“The Greenwich Meridian is just not the primary prime meridian. There have been others previously. In actual fact, many centuries earlier than Europe, India had a major meridian of its personal! It was known as madhya rekhā (or ‘center line’) and handed by means of the town of Ujjayinī (right now Ujjain), which was a reputed centre for astronomy over many centuries. “Varāhamihira, a well-known astronomer, lived and labored there some 1,500 years in the past. Indian astronomers had been conscious of the ideas of latitude and longitude, together with the necessity for a zero or prime meridian. The Ujjayinī meridian grew to become a reference for calculations in all Indian astronomical texts,” the textbook reads.

In a departure from the previous, the textbook makes a number of references to the “Sarasvati” river within the chapter pertaining to the start of the Indian civilisation.

Within the new textbook, the river finds a outstanding place in a chapter on the “Beginnings of Indian Civilisation”, the place the Harappan civilisation is known as the “Indus-Sarasvati” or “Sindhu-Sarasvati” civilisation. It says the “Sarasvati” basin included main cities of the civilisation — Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala — together with smaller cities and cities.

The river, in accordance with the brand new textbook, “right now goes by the identify of ‘Ghaggar’ in India and ‘Hakra’ in Pakistan (therefore the identify ‘Ghaggar-Hakra River’)” and is now seasonal.

The textbook, titled “Exploring Society India and Past”, has particulars on the Vedas with out mentioning the caste system and that girls and Shudras weren’t allowed to review these scriptures.

In response to the brand new guide, “Many professions are talked about within the vedic texts, resembling agriculturist, weaver, potter, builder, carpenter, healer, dancer, barber, priest, and so forth.” The earlier textbook stated, “Some monks divided individuals into 4 teams known as varnas…. Shudras couldn’t carry out any rituals. Usually ladies had been grouped with Shudras. Each ladies and Shudras weren’t allowed to review the Vedas.” “The monks additionally stated that these teams had been determined based mostly on beginning. For instance, if one’s father and mom had been Brahmins, one would mechanically turn out to be a Brahmin and so forth…,” the outdated guide stated.

The references had been additionally tweaked within the COVID-19 rationalisation, which was earlier termed non permanent by the NCERT to cut back burden.

The brand new social science textbook for Class 6 is a heavily-truncated amalgamation of what had been earlier three separate books for historical past, geography and civics printed by the Nationwide Council of Instructional Analysis and Coaching (NCERT).

“We’ve got tried to maintain the textual content to a minimal by specializing in the ‘huge concepts’. This has enabled us to mix in a single theme inputs from a number of disciplines — whether or not historical past, geography, political science or economics,” NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani writes within the introductory chapter of the brand new textbook.

What has been culled drastically is the detailed exploration of the kingdoms of historic India, resembling these contained in 4 chapters of the outdated guide which were deleted from the brand new. This consists of accounts of the kingdoms of Ashoka and Chandragupta Maurya, together with the position of Chanakya and his Arthashastra in addition to the dynasties of the Guptas, Pallavas and Chalukyas, and the work of Kalidasa.

In actual fact, the one point out of King Ashoka in your complete guide is a single phrase within the fourth chapter’s timeline.

A chapter within the outdated guide on “Villages, Cities and Commerce” concerning the instruments, cash, irrigation, crafts and commerce of the interval has been truncated. References to the famed iron pillar on the Qutub Minar website at Delhi’s Mehrauli, which most likely dates again to the Gupta dynasty period, have been dropped, together with mentions of the Sanchi Stupa, the monolithic temples of Mahabalipuram and the work within the Ajanta caves.

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