The part of the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s new social science textbook for Grade 8 that delved into judicial corruption was disturbing at various levels. The saga seemed strange to a lay person, as NCERT is an autonomous organisation under the Union ministry of education. Its textbooks are not randomly authored by any single individual on whim, but by a whole panel of subject experts. The content passes through various layers of internal and external sieves from conception to execution. So, was it just an inadvertent error of judgement, as the NCERT sought to claim in its apology? Or, was the Supreme Court right in reading into it a ‘well-orchestrated conspiracy’ to defame the judiciary? Second, was it wise to subject students in their formative years— who are just beginning to learn the nuances of public life—to content on corruption only in the judiciary, without mentioning its prevalence in various other walks of life? That there was little mention of the seminal role of the judiciary in preserving the nation’s democratic fabric did not go unnoticed.
The matter snowballed after the NCERT director initially defended the content in a letter to the Supreme Court registry. The court rightly saw his response as irresponsible, contemptuous and motivated. Though dissent, deliberation and discourse are essential for a vibrant democracy and institutional accountability, school textbooks cannot and should not be the forum for biased narratives that can prejudice young minds.
The legislature, the executive and the judiciary are the three important pillars of India’s constitutional democracy, with a system of checks and balances. Disquiet in some sections on an alleged attempt to soften the judiciary, which is empowered to question the executive and the legislature, was dispelled with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressing anguish and promising to clean up the mess. The court banned the book and directed the withdrawal of all its sold copies as well. However, there was no quietus, as the bench directed the NCERT to furnish the names of all those who had a role in drafting the offending chapter, together with the minutes of the meetings where it was deliberated and finalised. Those documents have the potential of putting faces to the mischief mongers and fixing accountability