Opposition accuses government of pushing RSS agenda on NCERT textbooks
Opposition parties in India have criticized the government for appointing individuals linked to the RSS to an NCERT textbook development team. Critics argue this move compromises the political independence and academic integrity of the curriculum for Classes 11 and 12.
Why it matters
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions regarding ideological influence in national education systems and the preservation of constitutional values in school curricula.
Opposition parties and student organisations on Thursday (August 20, 2026) accused the government of seeking to push the ideological imprint of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on school education after people with links to the Sangh and its affiliates were named in a National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) team tasked with preparing new political science textbooks for Classes 11 and 12.
The NCERT has reconstituted its 16-member textbook development team for political science with a mandate that includes integrating “cultural rootedness”, “Indian knowledge systems” and inclusion into the curriculum.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the NCERT of carrying out the ‘ sanghikaran ’ [RSS imprint] of textbooks. “On one hand, they are doing ‘ shuddhikaran ’ [purification], which is a sin, and on the other hand they are doing ‘ sanghikaran ’ of textbooks, which is a curse,” Mr. Ramesh said.
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