NCERT adds scrapping of Article 370 to Class 12 textbook chapter, drops portion on separatist politics in J&K

The topic "Separatism and Beyond" has been deleted from the chapter and the scrapping of Article 370 has been included

The abrogation of Article 370 and re-organisation of Jammu and Kashmir have made it to the political science text book for Class 12, recently revised by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

The new textbook also dropped the topic ‘Separatism and Beyond’ and instead makes a reference to it by way of violence witnessed in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, in spite of the special status it enjoyed under Article 370.

The chapter on ‘Regional Aspirations’ in the textbook “Politics in India since Independence” for the academic session 2020-21, finds a mention to the scrapping of Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir special status.

The revised portion, where the chapter talks about Jammu and Kashmir, says, “Jammu and Kashmir had a special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. However, in spite of it, the region witnessed violence, cross-border terrorism and political instability with internal and external ramifications”.

“The Article resulted in the loss of many lives, including that of innocent civilians, security personnel and militants. Besides, there was also a large scale displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley,” it read.

“On August 5, 2019, Parliament had approved a resolution abrogating special status to J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution. The state was also bifurcated into two Union territories - Ladakh with no Legislative Assembly and Jammu and Kashmir with one,” the revised portion read.

The revised textbook takes into account the developments that took place in Jammu and Kashmir from 2002 onward.