Calling Harappan Civilization ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’ in New Textbooks is Based on Established Scholarship, Not Politics: NCERT Social Science panel head Michel Danino
Ritika Chopra | 22 August 2024 | The Indian Express
Michel Danino, a visiting professor in the Humanities and Social Sciences department at IIT Gandhinagar, who chaired NCERT’s committee for drafting new social science textbooks based on the National Curriculum Framework, recently oversaw the release of the first Class 6 social science textbook titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond. The release was inordinately delayed, which he attributed to the committee having only five months “in practice” to draft the new textbooks. Describing this year’s textbook as a “good first step,” he told The Indian Express in an exclusive interview that it will be “expanded” with more chapters next year.
Danino also defended the inclusion of alternative names like “Sindhu-Sarasvati” and “Indus-Sarasvati” for the Harappan Civilization in the textbook, emphasizing that this terminology is based on established archaeological scholarship and is not influenced by any political agenda. “This is not a Hindutva thing,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Indian News Express. Edited excerpts:…