In an extraordinary intervention, the Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of India, has imposed a complete ban on the newly released NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook, ordering the seizure of all physical and digital copies over a controversial chapter on the judiciary.
This unprecedented move, coming after the book had already been printed and briefly circulated, has triggered a deeper national question: who actually writes NCERT textbooks, who approves their content, and how does a chapter pass multiple review layers only to be pulled, banned, and seized after publication?
THE ROLE OF NCERT
NCERT is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education, set up in 1961 to assist in improving the quality of school education and to develop curriculum and textbooks used across CBSE schools and widely adopted by state boards.
One must note that this “institutional” status is important. While the NCERT is academically autonomous, it operates within the policy framework of the Ministry of Education, which retains administrative oversight. This is why it was the Ministry which came up with a statement to say that the sale of the books had been stalled. And the said chapter would be rewritten.
That layered structure is precisely why a post-publication “hold” on a textbook is rare and noteworthy.
WHO WRITES THE CHAPTERS?
Step 1: It begins with the National Curriculum Framework (NCF)
No NCERT textbook starts with a blank page. The process begins with the NCF, which lays down the philosophy of learning, subject priorities, and pedagogical direction. Developing the NCF and designing syllabi and textbooks is one of NCERT’s core mandates, and curriculum renewal is a continuous process aligned with changing educational needs.
Once the framework is finalised, detailed syllabi for each class and subject are prepared.
Only after this stage do textbook writing teams begin their work.
Step 2: Those who actually write the textbook?
Contrary to popular perception, NCERT books are not written by a single author. They are developed through institutional committees known as Textbook Development Committees (TDCs).
These committees typically include:
- University academics and subject experts
- School teachers
- Pedagogy specialists
- Chief advisors and NCERT faculty
NCERT itself has clarified in past discussions that school textbooks are developed based on collective academic knowledge and not individual authorship.
In many cases, high-level national panels are also constituted to finalise curriculum and textbooks, especially during major reforms or revisions aligned with the National Curriculum Framework and NEP-era changes.
This multi-author model is meant to prevent bias, factual errors, and pedagogical imbalances.
Step 3: How about the review system?
Before any NCERT book reaches printing, it undergoes several layers of academic and institutional review.
First and foremost, there’s an internal academic review where draft chapters are examined by NCERT subject departments, editors, and curriculum experts. They usually vet copies for accuracy, age-appropriateness, and also conceptual clarity.
Following this, there is an external expert review where peers, often university scholars and domain experts, evaluate content quality and academic soundness.
The third step involves pedagogical and sensitivity checks, where textbooks are checked for their alignment with constitutional values, educational objectives, and classroom suitability, especially in subjects like social science and civics.
Historically, whenever suggestions or substantial feedback are received about textbook content, NCERT constitutes committees to examine and review the material. This established practice shows that textbook content is not static but subject to periodic scrutiny.
After the first three steps is the final approval, which is autonomous but not absolute.
After revisions, the manuscript moves toward institutional clearance. While NCERT is academically autonomous, it functions under the Ministry of Education, which can intervene in matters concerning national curriculum content and distribution.
Policy reports have also recommended that internal committees examine feedback from teachers, students, and institutions before updating textbooks, reinforcing the review-driven model.
In practice, this means
- The NCERT finalises the academic content.
- The Ministry retains policy oversight.
- Large-scale changes or controversies may trigger higher-level review.
Once approved, the book enters the publication phase, a logistical operation of enormous scale because NCERT is one of the largest textbook publishers in India, printing and distributing books nationwide through regional centres and official channels.
At this stage, reversing course becomes administratively and financially complex.
HOW CAN A PRINTED CHAPTER BE REVISED OR PULLED OUT?
This aligns with NCERT’s established post-feedback review mechanism, where committees may be formed if substantial concerns emerge after publication. In other words, textbook publication is not the end of scrutiny; it is part of an ongoing review ecosystem.
Textbook content typically passes multiple expert filters, which means that a post-publication correction signals either a sensitivity oversight, or a contextual interpretation issue, or even feedback from institutional stakeholders after release.
Past academic disputes over NCERT revisions have also shown that proposals for changes are usually routed back to expert committees for evaluation before formal modification. All of this indicates that rewriting a chapter is not a unilateral editorial act but a committee-driven academic process.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A “BAN” ORDER
Textbook revision is not new in India’s education system. Post-NEP reforms and curriculum rationalisation exercises have already led to hundreds of changes across NCERT textbooks, underscoring that curriculum development is an ongoing and evolving process rather than a one-time publication exercise.
This makes the current episode less about a single chapter and more about how institutional review mechanisms function in real time.
The banned Class 8 chapter is not just a publishing episode. It is a window into how India’s most influential textbooks are written, vetted, and, when necessary, rewritten, even after they have already gone to print.
