The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks meant for classes 6 to 10 now have additional information on ayurveda, yoga, teachings of Upanishads and smritis and scientific achievements of ancient India in areas such as astronomy and metallurgy and Indian philosophy, a content analysis by The Indian Express of 25 textbooks that hit the shelves in March this year has claimed.

The changes follow a textbook review carried out by the NCERT — the first time since 2007 — and come at a time when the ruling party at the Centre and the RSS have called for more focus on the country’s ancient past in school curriculum. NCERT, which is an autonomous organisation that advises the HRD Ministry on school education, has come up with the changes.

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Last year, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar during a lecture series organised by IGNOU had mentioned that NCERT will work on giving students a better understanding of Bharat and its “glorious past”. “We will replicate such courses with NCERT because we think our true identity begins with the identity of our nation. Without knowing it, we will not be able to decipher the truth about the world. We are open to discussions about the value of our past,” Javadekar had then said.

“All the changes and additions made to the textbooks are as per the public feedback received by the Council,” a senior NCERT official was quoted as saying by IE. NCERT has made roughly 1,334 changes, which include additions, correction and data update, in its 182 textbooks. Of these, the maximum changes (573) have been made to science books, followed by social science (316) and Sanskrit textbooks (163).

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The History textbook of Class VI has talked about six schools of India philosophy: Vaishesika, Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimansa and Vedanta or Uttara Mimansa. These are believed to have been founded by sages Konada, Gotama, Kapila, Patanjali, Jaimini and Vyasa. It also has a chapter on Ayurveda.

In the Geography book, NCERT has added more information about Aryabhatta that includes his work on the Earth’s diameter, solar and lunar eclipses.

The Class 6 Science book has defined Yoga as “an invaluable gift of the ancient Indian tradition”. The Science textbook of Class 8 states “In ancient India, our ancestors performed methodical observations of the sky. Their knowledge of astronomy was highly advanced for their time. Passage of the Sun, stars, moon and planets in the sky helped them to devise calendars and almanacks.”