Not Harappan, Indus-Sarasvati Civilisation; 'India Had Its Prime Meridian': Six Major Changes In NCERT Class 6 Social Science Book

The new NCERT Social Science textbook for Class 6 was released on Friday (19 July). Here are the six major changes as reported by The Indian Express:

1. Civilisation: The name of the Harappan civilisation is changed to 'Sindhu-Sarasvati' and 'Indus-Sarasvati' civilisation. Sarasvati River is mentioned multiple times while explaining the beginning of the Indian civilisation.

2. Sections: Earlier, there were three separate books for History, Political Science and Geography. Now, they have been merged into a book and divided into five sections.

They are 'India and the World: Land and the People', 'Tapestry of the Past', 'Our Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Traditions', 'Governance and Democracy' and 'Economic Life Around Us'.

3. Fall of civilisation: While the old textbook did not mention that Harappan civilisation fell due to the drying up of the Sarasvati river, the new book claims that "climate change" and "Sarasvati river dried up" are two major factors.

4. Geography: In this section poetry by Kalidasa — the Kumarasambhava is included in reference to the Himalayas. It also mentions Tamil Sangam poetry and its association with landscapes.

5. Meridian: The book says that the Greenwich Meridian "is not the first prime meridian" and that "many centuries before Europe, India had a prime meridian of its own", passing through Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. 

6. Caste: The word caste is mentioned only once in this book, while the old one had a complete section on B R Ambedkar, his fight for the rights of the Dalit community, and his experience of caste-based discrimination.