NCERT Adds emergency chapter to class 9 textbook, Pradhan says students must know history

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Chandigarh, June 25

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has added a section on the 1975 to 1977 Emergency in the Class 9 Social Science textbook, marking the first time the topic has been included at this level. The section describes the Emergency as “one of the major challenges to democracy in India” and highlights the suspension of fundamental rights, press censorship, and arrests of political leaders during the period.

The newly developed Social Science textbook, Understanding Society: India and Beyond, explains that growing public dissatisfaction in the early 1970s, driven by unemployment, inflation, and allegations of misgovernance, led to widespread protests. It states that the National Emergency was imposed in June 1975 on the grounds of internal disturbance.

During the Emergency period, several democratic institutions faced pressure, citizens’ freedoms were restricted, and the press was censored. The Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975, following a period of political unrest and a court verdict that challenged the election of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan welcomed the inclusion, saying that future generations should understand the events of the Emergency.

“NCERT has done the right thing. Future generations should know and understand the dark deeds of the Emergency so that such a situation does not arise again. That is why NCERT brought it to the forefront. NCERT did a good job,” Pradhan said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party also supported the decision, describing the Emergency as a dark chapter in India’s constitutional history. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that democratic institutions, including Parliament, the judiciary, and the media, faced restrictions during the period.

The inclusion of the Emergency in school textbooks has remained a matter of debate over the years. Discussions have continued on how the period should be represented in educational material, with political parties often differing over the portrayal of events during the Emergency.

The latest addition aims to provide Class 9 students with a better understanding of one of the most significant periods in India’s democratic history.