NCERT Textbook Renames Harappan Society as ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation’
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The main revision that NCERT has done in the new Class 6 Social Science book, “Exploring Society: India and Beyond,” is the nomenclature of Harappan Society as ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation.’
Unit 6 of the textbook is entitled “The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation” and explains this terminology thus, ” Archaeologists gave this civilisation several names – ‘Indus,’ ‘Harappan,’ ‘Indus-Sarasvati,’ or ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’ civilisation. We will use all these terms. Its inhabitants are called ‘Harappans.’ It is one of the oldest civilisations in the world.” This unit also speaks of the importance of the Sarasvati River mentioned as ‘Ghaggar’ in India and as ‘Hakra’ in Pakistan – mentioning that it finds a place in the ‘Rig Veda.’
In the spirit of the National Education Policy, NEP 2020, the NCERT—an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education—has introduced changes into the school curriculum. According to NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, these are part of an annual global exercise to make educational material more current and up-to-date; he said this in June. He said these corrections had been suggested by experts in the subject and pedagogy, and no senior officials interfered in the process.
He said that while some topics were updated because of new information, many others have been deleted to decrease the workload of students due to the pandemic and eliminate duplication. The idea is to refresh the curriculum and continue to make it relevant and interesting for students, in line with changing educational requirements.
The introduction of ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilisation’ in the new book dovetails into a larger exercise for introducing broad historical perspectives and deepening the understanding of ancient Indian heritage among young learners.
