NEW DELHI: India had its own prime meridian long before the Greenwich meridian was established. This ancient prime meridian, called the "Madhya Rekha," passed through the city of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, as highlighted in a new Class-6 NCERT social science textbook.
The revised textbook introduces significant changes, including the absence of references to caste-based discrimination and modifications in the depiction of B.R. Ambedkar's experiences with discrimination. It also renames the Harappan civilization as "Sindhu-Sarasvati."
"The Greenwich Meridian was not the first prime meridian. Many others existed before it. Centuries before Europe, India had its prime meridian called Madhya Rekha ('middle line'), which passed through Ujjayinī (modern-day Ujjain), a renowned center for astronomy. Varāhamihira, a celebrated astronomer, lived and worked there about 1,500 years ago. Indian astronomers understood the concepts of latitude and longitude, recognizing the necessity of a zero or prime meridian. The Ujjayinī meridian became a crucial reference for calculations in all Indian astronomical texts," the textbook states.
Departing from previous editions, the new textbook frequently references the "Sarasvati" river in the context of the beginning of Indian civilization. It describes the Harappan civilization as the "Indus-Sarasvati" or "Sindhu-Sarasvati" civilization. According to the textbook, the "Sarasvati" basin encompassed major cities like Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala, alongside smaller cities and towns. The river, now seasonal, is known as the "Ghaggar" in India and "Hakra" in Pakistan, collectively referred to as the "Ghaggar-Hakra River."
The textbook, titled "Exploring Society India and Beyond," includes details about the Vedas without mentioning the caste system or the exclusion of women and Shudras from studying these scriptures. It notes, "Many professions are mentioned in the Vedic texts, such as agriculturist, weaver, potter, builder, carpenter, healer, dancer, barber, priest, etc."
The previous textbook mentioned that "Some priests divided people into four groups called varnas... Shudras could not perform any rituals. Often women were grouped with Shudras. Both women and Shudras were not allowed to study the Vedas," and added that these groups were determined by birth.
References have also been altered in light of the COVID-19 rationalization, which NCERT initially termed as a temporary measure to reduce academic burden.
The new Class-6 social science textbook is a streamlined combination of previously separate history, geography, and civics books.
NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani explains in the introductory chapter, "We have tried to keep the text to a minimum by focusing on the 'big ideas.' This has enabled us to combine inputs from several disciplines -- whether history, geography, political science, or economics -- into a single theme."
The new book has drastically reduced the exploration of ancient Indian kingdoms, previously covered in four chapters now omitted. This includes the stories of Ashoka, Chandragupta Maurya, Chanakya, and his Arthashastra, along with the Gupta, Pallava, and Chalukya dynasties, and the works of Kalidasa. The only mention of King Ashoka in the new textbook is a single word in the timeline of the fourth chapter.
A previously detailed chapter on "Villages, Towns, and Trade," which discussed tools, coins, irrigation, crafts, and trade of the period, has been significantly shortened. Mentions of the iron pillar at Delhi's Qutub Minar site, likely dating back to the Gupta dynasty, along with the Sanchi Stupa, the monolithic temples of Mahabalipuram, and the Ajanta cave paintings, have been removed.
