Please Listen To Shri Batraji...

Times Of India, New Delhi, 28th July, 2014

Shri Dinanath Batra of RSS, and of Shiksha Bachao Andolan fame wants NCERT to replace English and Urdu words from the text as it makes learning difficult and may explain why students are losing interest in reading.

And God willing, he will succeed in his crusade for he has the right credentials. After all, he was the one who got Wendy Doniger's arguably questionable book on Hindus banned in India.

While its not for me to question the merit, logic and rationale of such assertions about choice of words in NCERT books and their impact, which I leave to respected and credible pedagogues and ideologues such as Shri Batra, some questions do come to mind-

1. How many people have actually learned words like mushkil, dost, gussa and shararat from NCERT books? Or from any book for that matter? Haven’t we all picked them sub-consciously in homes, on streets and through movies, etc.?
2. How many kids read these books anyway?

However, I feel that in the general interest of peace and decorum (I refrain from saying ‘save the unnecessary blushes’), it just might be a good idea to make these changes in NCERT books. It will do either of the two things, both beneficial-

• One, the quality of text might actually improve as proposed by Shri Batra and more and more kids will discover the new joys of reading, for the material would have become easier, relatable and generally more enchanting to young readers... Everyone wins!

• Two, the books in particular, and NCERT in general becomes even more irrelevant to the kids ushering in the death of a dream by blowing the myth off a menace. That might be a small price to pay for learning an important lesson. Again everyone wins… Even bigger this time!!

So, with all humility, pragmatism and deference, I suggest that we should agree to Shri Batra’s recommendation and urge upon NCERT to do the same. I see only the upside to this argument.

The best is that unlike most and bestest of arguments, there is absolutely no downside to this one, given that now and in times to come kids are going to rely more on internet and Google Dev for information - which is free, democratic, dynamic and convenient - than on silly, cumbersome books - which are boring, prejudiced, static and doctored.

Please do listen to Batraji, I beseech!!