On Thursday (16th January), the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) conceded that it has no evidence to back its contentious claims about Sati pratha (system) in school textbooks.
The social science textbook of Std 8, known as ‘Our Padst-III’, has a chapter named ‘Women, Caste and Reform.’ It states that women in some parts of India were praised for burning themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands.
It also claims that women who immolated themselves came to be known as sati. Moreover, the chapter contains a painting that purportedly depicts the practice of sati.
RTI activist Vivek Pandey had filed a query with NCERT, seeking the references for the claims made in the 8th std textbook. He also sought the source of the purported painting of ‘sati pratha.’ The RTI queries read:
- In class 8th book of social Science, chapter 7 Women, Caste and Reform. Ncert says: In some parts of the country, widows were praised they chose death by burning themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands.Women who died in this manner, whether willingly or otherwise, were called sati. Provide the original certified copy of source from where NCERT has taken above-mentioned details about Sati practice in India.
- Fig. 1- Sati, painted by Balthazar Solvyn, 1813 This was one of the many pictures of sati painted by the European artists who came to India. The practice of sati was seen as evidence of the barbarism of the East. Please provide the certified copy of source from where NCERT has taken picture in above given Fig-1 of sati practice in India.
NCERT, which is responsible for preparing textbooks for Indian students, acknowledged that it has no evidence to back its contentious claims about Sati pratha and the disturbing painting purportedly showcasing the practice.
In Its RTI reply on Thursday (16th February), the autonomous body conceded, “The information sought is not available on the files of the Department.”
Earlier in July 2021, NCERT failed to provide a convincing response on being asked about references behind its sweeping claims about the practice of sati in India.
RTI filed to NCERT seeking information on 2 points.
— Dr Vivek Pandey (@Vivekpandey21) June 18, 2021
NCERT have no Information on origin or extent of sati practice in India. The sources of the records/facts are not available on the files of department based on ASI as per NCERT reply. #NCERT #Satipratha #RTI pic.twitter.com/b3qkUWBIO3
In its reply to the RTI filed by Vivek Pandey, NCERT claimed, “We would like to mention that, a chapter titled ‘Women, Caste and Reform,’ in our class VIII History textbook ‘Our Pasts III’, details out debates around widow remarriage, child marriage including sati. Since this chapter mainly talks about the role of various social reformers in solving various societal issues, which includes issues related to women and does not discuss the origin or extent of the sati practice in India in general, the sources of the records/facts that you are seeking are not available on the files of the Department.“
NCERT removes misleading claims about Brahmins
On 4th February this year, OpIndia reported that NCERT has removed dubious claims about Brahmins from its 6th Standard book.
In its reply to the RTI query filed by Vivek Pandey, NCERT acknowledged that it had no evidence to support the claim that Hindu priests divided people into varnas and that women and shudras were not allowed to study the Vedas.
The contentious material appeared in Chapter 5 titled ‘Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic (Pages 44-45)’ of the textbook. It was claimed that the Hindu priests (Brahmins) divided the people into groups called varnas and told them that varnas were determined by birth.
NCERT's response to my RTI revealed no evidence for their claims.They assured to remove disinformation targeting Brahmins in subsequent version
— Dr Vivek Pandey (@Vivekpandey21) February 4, 2024
Happy to see these changes,It will protect young vulnerable minds from being indoctrinated with fake info about their history & culture pic.twitter.com/pF2SW3i8dh
The NCERT textbook also alleged that women were ‘grouped’ with Shudras and that they were not allowed to study the Vedas. It was also declared that the priests classified some people as ‘untouchables.’
In the rationalised version of the textbook (2023-2024 edition), the disinformation peddled against Brahmins was removed. It must be mentioned that the NCERT had acknowledged in 2022 that the assertions involving Hindu priests, women and Shudras had no basis.
