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Saffronisation is the right-wing policy approach inIndia that seeks to implementHindu nationalist views to counter the mainstream discourse, for example in school textbooks.[1] Critics have used thispolitical neologism.[2]
Saffron is considered a sacred color inHinduism, in which it is associated with devotion, purity and the renunciation of worldly desire.[3] Saffron is widely seen as a representative ofHinduism and otherIndian religions. However, in current times it has been extensively used as a political symbol by theHindutva movement .[4]
TheBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that several Indian history textbooks had overt Marxist or Eurocentric political overtones.[5]
The BJP remained in power at centre from 1998 to 2004 whenAtal Bihari Vajpayee was PM. He had ordered to change NCERT textbooks and the SCERT books in states where NDA was in power.
There were waves of saffronisation in his tenure, from 1998 to 2004.
The BJP has had trouble changing the textbooks, because many states in which the BJP or NDA is not in power have blocked saffronisation efforts. The BJP, citing a rigid anti-Hindu agenda, restructured SCERTs (of states where NDA was in power), NCERT and the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) to make textbooks conform to the BJP's Hindu nationalist platform.[6] In states where the BJP or NDA had control of local government, textbooks were changed extensively to favour a Hindu nationalist narrative.[7]
These changes included the omission of caste-based exclusion and violence throughout Indian history, exclusion or minimisation of contributions to Indian society made by Muslims, omission of world history, and glorifying and elaborating the Hindu rulers' governance and achievements. Minimising details of Muslim & British rule, minimising the role of Congress in freedom struggle, teaching more about India's geography, topography, Political structure of India etc.[2]
In Science & Mathematics books, the Indian scientists and mathematicians were glorified, while the accomplishments of their foreign counterparts were diminished.Vedic Science and Vedic Maths were taught.
In English literature textbooks, the works of Indian writers were included, while the works of foreign writers were excluded.
Efforts were undertaken in 2005 to reverse the saffronisation of textbooks previously made by BJP, spearheaded by theIndian National Congress,[8] India's second biggest political party and the BJP's main rival. But in states where NDA was still in power, the local government did not follow the de-saffronisation of the UPA-led central government.
When theHindustan Times reviewed the issue of saffronisation of Indian textbooks in late 2014, it noted that right-wing efforts to change how textbooks recount history faced "some difficulty as it lacks credible historians to back its claims."[9] Themedieval period in India is one such hotly-contested epoch among historians. Since there can be no true consensus about that era due to divided and deeply entrenched political motivations, history for that period is highly subjective and particularly vulnerable to the influence of the textbook writer's sympathies and outlook. "The choice of the textbook writer is more decisive than anything else," it was noted in a report inThe Hindu.[10] Critics have said that the changes to the textbooks have portrayed the medieval period as "a dark age of Islamic colonial rule which snuffed out the glories of the Hindu and Buddhist empires that preceded it".[8] Another trap in the politicisation of history relates to contention over the state ofJammu and Kashmir.[10]
By mid-2015,The Times of India reported that theNational Council of Educational Research and Training, which is in charge of publishing textbooks, had participated in a meeting convened by theMinistry of Human Resource Development, and during that meeting, the issue of changing textbooks was discussed. An official from the ICHR complained that the theme of nationalism did not receive proper treatment in textbooks, setting the stage for possible textbook revisions.[7]
The state government of Rajasthan reportedly spent Rs 37 crore to reprint 36 textbooks used for classes 1 to 8 for the 2016–2017 academic session that will be based on an agenda that would promote Indian culture by including historical figures, such asMaharaja Surajmal, Hem Chandra, andGuru Gobind Singh. The textbooks that had been approved up to the 2012–13 academic session were rendered obsolete under the rewriting of history, and those books were auctioned off. In total, 5,66 crore new textbooks were ordered printed for an agenda that critics described was intent on supporting the saffronisation of textbooks. Rajasthan (primary and secondary) education minister Vasudev Devnani denied the charge of saffronisation, but educationists described his decision as the "Ideological reorientation of education towards local cultural norms" that occurs when right-wing forces come to power.[11]
The state government ofKarnataka has reportedly ordered new textbooks for the 2017–18 academic session in an effort that academicians and critics have described as a "blatant attempt to saffronise textbooks".[12]
Saffronisation has also been attempted to portrayMahatma Gandhi's Hindu-nationalist assassinNathuram Godse in a heroic manner,[13][14] as well as otherHindutva leaders likeVinayak Damodar Savarkar,[15][16] andM. S. Golwalkar.
Some major changes include the removal of chapters dealing withIslam and its origins, as well as cutting down content aboutMughal dynasty rule in India. Recent changes involve replacement of the nameBabri Masjid with "a 3-dome structure" and removal of discussions aboutRam Rath Yatra,secular debates about the demolition, and consequences of said demolition. This has led to a polarised perspective.
