New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has come under sharp criticism after the Indian History Congress (IHC) slammed its newly released modules on “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.” The IHC, in a resolution, charged that the modules were “falsehoods with communal intent” and accused NCERT of feeding “distorted polarizing history” to school students.
The IHC pointed out four major problems. First, it said the modules wrongly blamed both the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress for Partition. Second, it alleged that the British role in dividing India was ignored. Third, it claimed the modules selectively portrayed Hindus and Sikhs as victims while excluding the suffering of Muslims. Lastly, it charged NCERT with deliberate distortion to push a communal narrative.
NCERT has dismissed all these allegations. It argued that quotations from top Congress leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, and Patel were used to explain their role in Partition. The modules, NCERT said, specifically mention Lord Mountbatten’s decision to prepone the transfer of power, which caused chaos and violence. They also describe Partition as an “unprecedented human catastrophe,” citing massacres, refugee trains arriving with corpses, and atrocities against women.
Critics, however, see this as another attempt by NCERT to reshape history in line with ruling party narratives. The selective highlighting of Partition horrors has raised fears that young students are being pushed toward a communal understanding of India’s past. The IHC has urged the government to withdraw the modules, warning that they endanger the democratic ethos of education.
