The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has taken an important step towards promoting Indian culture, tradition and ancient knowledge in the school education system. The new Class 9 Social Science textbook ‘Understanding Society: India and Beyond – Part Two’, released in the middle of the academic session, covers in detail the mottos of many modern and prominent institutions of the country and their historical sources. These mottoes have been taken directly from the Upanishads, Mahabharata and other ancient texts, so that the students can become well acquainted with the glorious cultural heritage of the country.
The chapter titled ‘Governance and Public Policy’ of the textbook highlights how post-independence India’s modern institutions have adopted traditional Indian ideas and high moral values in their governance and adapted them to the needs of today’s modern democracy.
According to the book, India’s national motto ‘Satyameva Jayate’ (meaning ‘Truth always triumphs’) is taken from the ancient Mundak Upanishad. This symbolizes that Indian moral values have always been supreme in public life and governance. Similarly, the official motto of the country’s highest judiciary i.e. the Supreme Court of India is ‘Yato Dharmastato Jayah’ taken from the great text of Mahabharata, which literally means – ‘Where there is Dharma, i.e. morality and duty, there is victory.’
The book also points out that during the colonial rule, foreign and imported mottos were prevalent in the institutions under British influence, such as the motto of the ‘Order of the Star of India’ used to be ‘Heaven’s Light, Our Guide’. But after the independence of the country, we turned towards our ancient and indigenous traditions and made the verse of Mundkopanishad our national symbol.
The main objective of this new initiative of NCERT is to make the new generation students understand that the modern constitutional and judicial institutions of our country are not mere paper or superficial symbols, but at their core lie the deep philosophical and cultural ideals of India. By making these sentences a part of the curriculum, students will be able to deeply understand the values of the country’s ancient history, ethics and governance systems that have been guiding the Indian society for centuries. Academics and experts have also appreciated the move as it will further strengthen the representation of Indian culture in school books.