According to the Court, the NCERT’s textbook development team did not have “reasonable, informed knowledge about the Indian judiciary”. This sweeping statement has cast a shadow over the entire exercise of textbook writing. The Court must apply the same yardsticks it used for the judiciary chapters to history chapters in the textbooks too. Textbook writing requires not just subject matter expertise but also skill that would genuinely kindle knowledge and inquiry as well as train minds towards valuing fairness, equality, peace and harmony. Any selective targeting of chapters will only reinforce the perception that the judiciary is merely protecting itself.
