NEW DELHI: NCERT on Saturday refuted reports claiming that the Preamble has been removed from the new Class 9 Social Science textbook, news agency ANI reported, citing sources.Sources in NCERT told ANI that the curriculum has been redesigned under the new National Curriculum Framework, and the topics have been redistributed across different grades instead of being covered in a single textbook.“The Preamble continues to appear in the opening pages of all new NCERT textbooks, including all Social Science textbooks. It is also part of the Grade 10 syllabus,” sources told ANI.“They also say that constitutional values, including secularism, justice, liberty and socialism, are already introduced in Grades 6 to 8, especially in the Grade 7 Social Science textbook, and will be dealt with in more detail in Grade 10,” they added.This comes after the opposition launched a sharp attack on the government over the alleged removal of references to “secular” and “secularism” in NCERT’s revised Class 9 Social Science textbook.Among the most notable changes is the omission of the Preamble from the introductory chapter on the Constitution. References to “secular” and “secularism”, which featured in earlier editions, have also been removed from the primary text.NCERT has instead introduced a broader discussion on constitutional values, institutions and governance while restructuring the subject in line with the NEP 2020’s integrated learning approach.The updated curriculum also introduces a chapter on the 1975–77 Emergency for the first time in a Class 9 textbook, expands lessons on India’s electoral system and democratic institutions, and warns against counterfeit textbooks.The revised book, titled Understanding Society: India and Beyond, includes a dedicated section on the Emergency, describing it as a major challenge to Indian democracy.
