Darwin Excluded
The NCERT Class 10 textbook has removed the chapter on Darwin’s “Theory of Biological Evolution.”
The removal is justified officially as part of a “curriculum rationalisation exercise.”
Critics argue this change raises concerns it’s ideologically motivated, not purely academic.
Around the same time, many BJP-ruled states introduced the Bhagavad Gita into school curricula.
The article suggests that removing Darwin and introducing the Gita are not unconnected but part of a broader trend.
Five years ago, Satyapal Singh (Union Minister of State for HRD) declared Darwin’s theory scientifically incorrect, claiming “nobody had seen it.”
Singh’s view promoted creationism: the claim that humans and species were made by divine act and not by evolution.
Creationism in this context is being tied to theological beliefs in Hindu tradition (from texts like the Gita and Puranas).
Shifting to Creationsit views will induce and justify caste and gender biases.
The removal of evolution theory and introduction of theological texts in schools may serve to rationalise the caste system and rituals.
These changes represent an “unscientific” form of creationism being introduced into formal education.
Such curriculum revisions may weaken scientific education and impede critical thinking about biology and evolution.
If the argument against evolution is having no witness, it could as well be the argument against Creationism.
Young minds should not be deprived of critical learning and must know all aspects to be able to judge better for themselves as they grow up.
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