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Naxalbari uprising

2025-08-16T19:01:30Z

49.204.134.147: I have created a page for the Naxalbari uprising, one of the most pivotal revolutionary moments in the history of India's communist movement

The '''Naxalbari uprising''' was an armed peasant revolt in 1967 in the Naxalbari block of Siliguri subdivision in Darjeeling district, West Bengal, [[Republic of India|India]]. It was mainly led by tribals and the revolutionary communist leaders of Bengal and further developed into the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)]] in 1969. The armed struggle led to the birth of [[Naxalism]] and the beginning of the [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency]], which rapidly spread from West Bengal to other states of India such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Telangana, and continues to this day.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|newspaper=Revolutionary Publications|title=30 years of Naxalbari|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031003912/http://www.bannedthought.net/India/PeoplesMarch/PM1999-2006/publications/30%20years/part1.htm|archive-date=2010-10-21|retrieved=2018-3-2}}</ref>

=== Prelude to the uprising ===
The uprising occurred during the height of the [[Sino-Soviet split]], which was causing turmoil within the communist organisations in India and the rest of the world. The leader of the uprising [[Charu Majumdar|Charu Mazumdar]] theorised that the situation was appropriate for launching an armed [[People's war]] in India following the [[Chinese Civil War|Chinese Communist Revolution]], [[Vietnam War]] and [[Cuban Revolution]]. Charu Mazumdar wrote the [[Historic Eight Documents]] which became the foundation of the Naxalite movement in 1967.

Throughout 1966 itself the groundwork had been laid. In 1965/66 the ‘Siliguri Group’ [(of the newly formed [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI (M)]]] brought out as many as six cyclostyled leaflets calling for the immediate commencement of armed revolution. One of these leaflets gave a call to initiate partisan warfare in the Terai region within six months. Throughout 1966 revolutionaries organised peasant cells in every part of Siliguri sub-division; bow and arrows, and even a few rifles were gathered and liaison established with the Nepalese Maoists active just a few miles away. In late 1966 a Revolutionary Kisan meeting was organised in Siliguri. On March 3, 1967 the seeds of struggle began to sprout. A group of peasants surrounded a plot of land in Naxalbari region; marking the boundaries with red flags, they began harvesting the crop.<ref name=":0" />

=== The uprising ===
The March 18 Convention was the signal for the peasant upsurge, which engulfed the entire area for four months. The U.F. government in West Bengal sought to diffuse the movement by announcing token land reforms. The revolutionary peasants replied to the revisionist rulers by setting up peasant committees to take over the land of the jotedars. Huge processions and demonstrations were organised by Kisan committee members, many of whom were armed with lathis, spears, bows and arrows. A sea of red flags struck terror into the hearts of the landlords and the countryside reverberated with the slogan "March forward along the path of armed peasant revolution."

The first clash was ignited when a share-cropper, Bigul Kisan, was beaten by armed agents of a local jotedar. This was followed by violent clashes and the forcible seizure of land and confiscation of food grains, by armed units of the Kisan committee. Any resistance by the landlords and their gangs was smashed and a few killed. By end May the situation reached the level of an armed peasant uprising. The CPI (M) leaders, who were now in power, first tried to pacify the leaders of the movement, having failed, [[Jyoti Basu]], the then home minister of West Bengal, ordered in the police. On 23rd May the peasantry retaliated killing an inspector at Jharugaon village. On May 25, in Naxalbari, the police brutally killed nine women and children. In June the struggle intensified further, particularly in the areas of Naxalbari, Kharibari and Phansidewa. Firearms and ammunition were snatched from the jotedars by raiding their houses. People’s courts were established and judgments passed. The upheaval in the villages continued till July. The tea garden workers struck work a number of times in support of the peasants. Then on July 19, a large number of para-military forces were deployed in the region. In ruthless cordon and search operations, hundreds were beaten and over one thousand arrested. Some leaders like [[Jangal Santal]] were arrested, others like Charu Mazumdar went underground, yet others like [[Tribheni Kanu]], [[Sobhan]], [[Ali Gorkha Majhi]] and [[Tilka Majhi]] became martyrs. A few weeks later, Charu Mazumdar wrote ''"Hundreds of Naxalbaris are smoldering in India....... Naxalbari has not died and will never die."<ref name=":0" />''

=== Aftermath of the uprising ===
The relations between the [[Communist Party of China|Communist Party of China (CPC)]] with the CPI(M) deteriorated following CPC's support of the uprising. Many members of the CPI(M) who supported the uprising were expelled, such as Charu Majumdar, [[Souren Bose]], [[Mahadeb Mukherjee]] and [[Dilip Bagchi]]. Expelled communists later on organised themselves into one organisation, the [[All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR)]], which later developed into the CPI(ML). CPI(ML) remained the centre of the Naxalite movement till 1975. A large number of enthusiastic youth joined the movement. Although the uprising was suppressed, it remained a landmark in Indian politics and the start of a revolutionary communist movement in India which led to several other similar kind of movements such as the [[Bhojpur uprising]], the [[Srikakulam peasant uprising]] and began the ongoing Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=The People's Daily|title=Spring Thunder Over India|date=1967-7-5|url=https://www.marxists.org/subject/china/documents/peoples-daily/1967/07/05.htm}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

2025-08-16T17:40:39Z

49.204.134.147: I added more detail and a citation to the paragraph about how the first CPI government was destabilized and why president's rule was declared.

{{Infobox political party|name=Communist Party of India (Marxist)|native_name=भारतीय कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी (मार्क्सवादी)|logo=CPI(M) logo.png|founded=7 November 1964|abbreviation=CPI(M)|general_secretary=M A Baby|newspaper=People's Democracy • Ganashakti • Deshabhimani • Loklaher • Desher Katha • Prajashakti • Marxist • Theekkathir|student_wing=Students' Federation of India (4 million members)|youth_wing=Democractic Youth Federation of India|womens_wing=All-India Democratic Women's Association|political_orientation=[[Scientific socialism]]|website=https://cpim.org/}}

The '''Communist Party of India (Marxist)''' ('''CPI(M)''') is the largest of the several communist parties in India with over a million members in 2018 along with many more in its front organizations, having held power at state governments in West Bengal, [[Kerala]] and Tripura along with being a party of nationwide repute. In its constitution, it calls itself a revolutionary party guided by the principles of [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxism-Leninism]].<ref>https://cpim.org/party-constitution</ref>

== History ==

=== Predecessors ===
The undivided [[Communist Party of India]] was founded by a small group of Indian revolutionaries in exile in Tashkent in 1920, who were inspired by the ideas of the [[Russian revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]]. In its formative years, the party withstood the brunt of [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|British]] repression with a number of conspiracy cases hurled against them in Peshawar (1922), Meerut (1923) and Kanpur (1929). A number of revolts against the [[British Raj (1858–1947)|colonial government]] were either led or inspired by the communists - the Punappra Vayalar rebellion, the North Malabar rising, the Tebhaga movement, the Warli adivasi revolt and the historic Telangana struggle.<ref>https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/Telangana.pdf</ref>

The CPI came to power in the state government of Kerala for the first time in 1957. Due to the social changes brought by the Left Front government, and a fear that successful communist governance would inspire more such movements in India, the Indian National Congress cooperated with the CIA to destabilize the state, and used the excuse of a, "law and order crisis", to impose President's rule upon the state in 1959.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Dileep V Kumar|newspaper=The South First|title=Fall of the first Communist government: CIA, Congress and a ‘liberation struggle’|date=25-3-15|url=https://thesouthfirst.com/kerala/fall-of-the-first-communist-government-cia-congress-and-a-liberation-struggle/}}</ref>

=== Split from CPI ===
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) was formed in 1964 as a result of a prolonged struggle against [[Nikita Khrushchev|Khruschevite]] [[revisionism]] and [[Maoism|Maoist]] [[dogmatism]].<ref>https://cpim.org/party-programme</ref> The CPI(M) said it could learn very little from the Russian and Chinese revolutions and believed an Indian revolution would be very different from previous communist revolutions.<ref name=":022">{{Citation|author=[[Vijay Prashad]]|year=2017|title=Red Star over the Third World|chapter=Polycentric Communism|page=118|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacecu7gb2ei65us6ip3r2ugcgkblneqcftbm456mb6bzvprkbqk55qm?filename=Vijay%20Prashad%20-%20Red%20Star%20Over%20the%20Third%20World-LeftWord%20Books%20%282018%29.pdf|city=New Delhi|publisher=LeftWord Books}}</ref> The CPI(M) led Left Front won the electorate over West Bengal in 1974, after which over three decades of Left Front rule were to follow.

{{Communist parties}}

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Communist parties]]
[[Category:Socialism in India]]

Republic of India

2025-08-16T17:16:45Z

49.204.134.147: I updated the initial paragraph to list India as the world's most populous country as well as add extra info in the income inequality section about how income inequality is now worse than under the British Raj

{{Infobox country|name=Republic of India|leader_title1=President|image_flag=Flag of India.svg|leader_name2=Jagdeep Dhankar|leader_name1=Droupadi Murmu|leader_name3=[[Narendra Modi]]|leader_title4=Chief Justice|leader_name4=Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud|leader_title3=Prime Minister|leader_title2=Vice President|government_type=Federal parliamentary bourgeois republic|native_name=भारत गणराज्य|mode_of_production=[[Capitalism]]|area_km2=3,287,263|population_estimate_year=2018|currency=Indian rupee (₹) (INR)|population_estimate=1,352,642,280|image_coat=Emblem of India.svg|capital=New Delhi|largest_city=Mumbai|image_map=India_Map.svg|map_width=290|map_caption=|official_languages=Hindi English|religion=79.8% Hinduism 14.2% Islam 2.3% Christianity 1.7% Sikhism 0.7% Buddhism 0.4% Jainism 0.23% unaffiliated 0.65% other}}

'''India''', officially the '''Republic of India''', is a [[bourgeois]] country in [[South Asia]] and the most populated country in the world before the [[People's Republic of China]].<ref>{{Citation|author=Philip B. Calkins|year=2022|title=India|chapter=|section=|page=|quote=|pdf=|city=|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|isbn=|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=https://www.britannica.com/place/India|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref> Hundreds of languages are spoken in India, and the country has a large [[Islam|Muslim]] minority that makes up 10% of the world's Muslim population.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2014-05-22|title=The election of Narendra Modi and the dangerous rise of India’s far-right|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/the-election-of-narendra-modi-and-the-dangerous-rise-of-indias-far-right/|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714163244/https://www.liberationnews.org/the-election-of-narendra-modi-and-the-dangerous-rise-of-indias-far-right/|archive-date=2019-07-14|retrieved=2023-02-11|author=Mike Wang}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Bronze Age ===
{{Main article|Indus Valley civilisation}}
An urban civilization developed in the Indus Valley around 2600 BCE. Its major cities included Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. The Indus civilization collapsed around 1900 BCE, and archaeologists found many unburied remains showing signs of violent death.<ref name=":02222">{{Citation|author=Neil Faulkner|year=2013|title=A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals|chapter=The First Class Societies|page=19–21|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacedljwr5izotdclz23o3c5p4di4t3ero3ncbfytip55slhiz4otuls?filename=Neil%20Faulkner%20-%20A%20Marxist%20History%20of%20the%20World_%20From%20Neanderthals%20to%20Neoliberals-Pluto%20Press%20%282013%29.pdf|publisher=Pluto Press|isbn=9781849648639|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=91CA6C708BFE15444FE27899217FBA8E}}</ref>

=== Iron Age ===
{{Main article|Maurya Empire}}16 states dominated northern India by 500 BCE, and the [[Kingdom of Magadha]] conquered the others by 321 BCE to form the Maurya Empire.<ref>{{Citation|author=Chris Harman|year=1999|title=A People's History of the World|page=49|chapter=Iron and empires|isbn=9781898876557|city=London|publisher=Bookmarks Publications Ltd|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=F247C9051030CCBA52C1E5A4468834E9|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacea6om2gf2ixovddv7moyuv3i4rj2ggii7gta4x4h4rk4ebpqdvd6i?filename=Chris%20Harman%20-%20A%20People%27s%20History%20of%20the%20World.pdf}}</ref>

=== Classical period ===
{{Main article|Gupta Empire}}After the fall of the Maurya Empire, the Gupta dynasty was the second to attempt to unite India. However, it lacked centralization, and thus, quickly collapsed. Agriculture was highly organized and irrigation was widespread during this period. India participated in a global market with Arabia, Western Asia, and China and traded metals, gems, textiles, spices, salt, and exotic animals.<ref name=":690222">{{Citation|author=Neil Faulkner|year=2013|title=A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals|chapter=The Medieval World|page=64–65|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacedljwr5izotdclz23o3c5p4di4t3ero3ncbfytip55slhiz4otuls?filename=Neil%20Faulkner%20-%20A%20Marxist%20History%20of%20the%20World_%20From%20Neanderthals%20to%20Neoliberals-Pluto%20Press%20%282013%29.pdf|publisher=Pluto Press|isbn=9781849648639|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=91CA6C708BFE15444FE27899217FBA8E}}</ref>

=== Early modern period ===
{{Main article|Mughal Empire}}

=== Colonization ===
{{Main article|British Raj}}
The [[British East India Company]] took control of India in 1765 and established a trade monopoly. The [[British Raj (1858–1947)|British Raj]] took control of India in 1847 and suppressed a rebellion in 1857. The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|British]] stole at least $44.6 trillion from India, while the population of India dropped by 20% between 1870 and 1920 and tens of millions died from famine under British rule.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Jason Hickelby|newspaper=[[Black Agenda Report]]|title=How Britain Stole $45 Trillion From India And Lied About It|date=2019-01-09|url=https://blackagendareport.com/how-britain-stole-45-trillion-india-and-lied-about-it|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106033311/https://blackagendareport.com/how-britain-stole-45-trillion-india-and-lied-about-it|archive-date=2022-01-06|retrieved=2022-09-08}}</ref>

==== Independence movement ====
In the early 1900s, following the defeat of the Swadeshi movement, Indians began boycotting British goods and picketing their shops. In 1908, the workers of Mumbai went on [[Strike action|strike]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=[[Vijay Prashad]]|year=2017|title=Red Star over the Third World|chapter=Follow the Path of the Russians!|page=|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacecu7gb2ei65us6ip3r2ugcgkblneqcftbm456mb6bzvprkbqk55qm?filename=Vijay%20Prashad%20-%20Red%20Star%20Over%20the%20Third%20World-LeftWord%20Books%20%282018%29.pdf|city=New Delhi|publisher=LeftWord Books}}</ref>:34 Following the [[Jallianwallah Bagh massacre]], the [[Indian National Congress]] met in 1919 at Amritsar. [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]] wanted to redistribute land to the peasants, but [[Mohandas Gandhi|Gandhi]] prevented the Congress from following that path.<ref name=":0" />:40 In February 1946, strikes took place within the Royal Indian Navy and mutinies within various army units; along with the assistance of 300k workers. British ruling circles soon admitted that the colonial model in India was unsustainable, accepting that the anti-colonialist movement had assumed a mass character.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|author=M. Alexeyev|year=1948|title=Indian Union and Pakistan After the Partition of India|page=1-2|pdf=https://www.marxists.org/subject/india/ci/after-partition.pdf|publisher=Bolshevik}}</ref>

=== Independence ===

==== Nehru government ====
Nehru's first two five-year plans, which ended in 1961, failed to lessen inequality.<ref name=":122">{{Citation|author=[[Vijay Prashad]]|year=2008|title=The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World|chapter=Arusha|page=199|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceascnzh26r5d6uitjjs2z7rflhaxlt7rboz5whzdf76qg6xxvecqq?filename=%28A%20New%20Press%20People%27s%20history%29%20Vijay%20Prashad%20-%20The%20darker%20nations_%20a%20people%27s%20history%20of%20the%20third%20world-The%20New%20Press%20%282008%29.pdf|publisher=The New Press|isbn=9781595583420|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9B40B96E830128A7FE0E0E887C06829F}}</ref> He ousted a [[Communist Party of India|Communist]] government from power in [[Kerala]].<ref name=":12222">{{Citation|author=[[Vijay Prashad]]|year=2008|title=The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World|chapter=Bali|page=162|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceascnzh26r5d6uitjjs2z7rflhaxlt7rboz5whzdf76qg6xxvecqq?filename=%28A%20New%20Press%20People%27s%20history%29%20Vijay%20Prashad%20-%20The%20darker%20nations_%20a%20people%27s%20history%20of%20the%20third%20world-The%20New%20Press%20%282008%29.pdf|publisher=The New Press|isbn=9781595583420|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9B40B96E830128A7FE0E0E887C06829F}}</ref> India fought against [[People's Republic of China|China]] in 1962 and against [[Islamic Republic of Pakistan|Pakistan]] in 1965.<ref name=":1222" />:215

==== Indira Gandhi Government ====
Nehru died in 1964, and [[Indira Gandhi]] became prime minister in 1966. She ruled under martial law from 1975 to 1977, when she left office. She returned to power in 1980. The INC lost the 1983 elections in several southern states, with [[N. T. Rama Rao]] taking power in [[Andhra Pradesh]] and the [[Janata Party]] taking power in [[Karnataka]]. It won in [[Assam]], where only 2% of the population voted among widespread ethnic violence.<ref name=":1222">{{Citation|author=[[Vijay Prashad]]|year=2008|title=The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World|chapter=New Delhi|page=|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceascnzh26r5d6uitjjs2z7rflhaxlt7rboz5whzdf76qg6xxvecqq?filename=%28A%20New%20Press%20People%27s%20history%29%20Vijay%20Prashad%20-%20The%20darker%20nations_%20a%20people%27s%20history%20of%20the%20third%20world-The%20New%20Press%20%282008%29.pdf|publisher=The New Press|isbn=9781595583420|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9B40B96E830128A7FE0E0E887C06829F}}</ref>:208

==== Liberalization ====
In 1989, India introduced economic changes that allowed capitalists to take control of scarce natural resources.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=[[Monthly Review]]|title=‘India after Naxalbari: Unfinished History’|date=2022-07-14|url=https://mronline.org/2022/07/14/india-after-naxalbari-unfinished-history/|retrieved=2022-07-14}}</ref> Following the [[overthrow of the Soviet Union]] and the [[Gulf War]], Indian Prime Minister [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]] instituted a policy of LPG (Liberalization-Privatization-Globalisation) in 1991 to secure funding from the [[IMF]] and [[World Bank]]. Contrary to popular belief within the nation, these neo-liberal reforms did not improve the quality of life for many.<ref name=":69">{{Web citation|author=Jayati Ghosh|newspaper=[[Janata Weekly]]|year=2021|title= The Neoliberal Reforms of 1991 Didn’t Work as Claimed|quote=[I]ndia’s HDI rank slipped from No. 114 to No. 131, a dismal performance even allowing for the increased number of countries. Even this was largely because of per capita income; other indicators remained woeful even compared to poorer countries like Bangladesh. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) shows 28% of India’s population in multidimensional poverty, with another 20% vulnerable to it, much higher proportions than the developing-country average.

The stated goals of the 1991 reforms were higher rates of income growth with more employment generation and diversification into higher value-added activities. Of these, only higher income growth was achieved, but at the expense of massive environmental destruction and without enabling structural change. Employment stagnated and then fell from 2011; industrialization did not take off beyond what was already achieved before 1991; most workers remain stuck in low-paying informal work; women’s employment participation declined significantly. Nutrition indicators are poor, with declining per capita calorie consumption, and worse outcomes for women and young children, even before covid hit. Farming is under threat, and small and micro enterprises that employ the bulk of workers face an extreme crisis.|url=https://janataweekly.org/the-neoliberal-reforms-of-1991-didnt-work-as-claimed/}}</ref>

==== BJP Government ====
[[File:India joins G7.png|thumb|alt=India joins G7 in "free speech" campaign|India joins G7 in "free speech" campaign]]
[[Narendra Modi]]'s far-right [[Indian People's Party|Bharatiya Janata Party]] won 303 out of 543 seats in parliament in 2019 and 240 seats in 2024. His [[National Democratic Alliance]] won a total of 293 seats, which is enough to form a government and give him another term as Prime Minister.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|author=Vijay Prashad|newspaper=The Tricontinental|title=Democracy Will Not Come through Compromise and Fear: The Twenty-Fourth Newsletter (2024)|date=2024-06-13|url=https://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/year-of-elections/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613110144/https://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/year-of-elections/|archive-date=2024-06-13}}</ref> However, this time, the authority of the BJP will be significantly reduced due to coalition politics.

== Demographics ==
40% of India's 1.4 billion people are under 25 years old.

== Economy ==
=== Employment ===
Youth [[unemployment]] is 45.4% while overall unemployment is only 7.5%.<ref name=":1" />

=== Income Inequality ===
Income inequality has been rising ever since the 2000s. A minimum wage worker in rural India would need to work 941 years to earn what the top-paid executive at a leading Indian garment company earns in a year, and income inequality has become worse than the British Raj.<ref name=":1666">{{Web citation||newspaper=[[Oxfam International]]|title=India: extreme inequality in numbers|url=https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-extreme-inequality-numbers}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=Astha Rajvanshi|newspaper=Time Magazine|title=India’s Income Inequality Is Now Worse Than Under British Rule, New Report Says|date=2024-3-7|url=https://time.com/6961171/india-british-rule-income-inequality/}}</ref>

== Living Standards ==
=== Housing and Construction ===
There are about 1.77 million homeless people (0.15% of the total population) residing in India <ref name=":17">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Business Standard]]|author=Somesh Jha|title=1.77 million people live without shelter, albeit the number decline over a decade|date=2013-12-06|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/1-77-million-people-live-without-shelter-albeit-the-number-decline-over-a-decade-113120600835_1.html}}</ref> and around 11.09 million vacant homes.<ref name=":18">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Mint]]|author=Ashwini Kumar Sharma|title=11.09 mn homes are lying vacant in India: Report|date=2019-10-15|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/11-09-million-vacant-houses-in-india-says-report-11571053150289.html}}</ref>

=== Education ===
Between 2018-2019, India possessed 1,083,678 government schools but that number declined to 1,022,386 in 2021-22. Similarly, government-aided schools declined from 84,614 to 82,480. At the same time, the number of private schools increased from 325,760 to 335,844. The BJP-led states of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh pursued this policy of education privatization aggressively; marking a decline in the number of government schools by 26,074, 5,227, and 22,904 respectively.<ref name=":28">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[CPIM]]|date=2023-09-05|title= How BJP is Pushing for Privatisation of Education|url=https://cpim.org/how-bjp-pushing-privatisation-education/}}</ref>

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has revised the curriculum of the school textbooks to make them suit the terms laid out in the National Education Policy 2020. These revisions purged the theory of evolution from Biology <ref name=":1857">{{Web citation|author=Dinesh C. Sharma|newspaper=[[The Wire]]|year=2023|title= Biology Without Darwin. Next, Physics Without Newton and Einstein?|quote=The removal of Darwin from the school syllabus is not an innocuous change. Seen in the context of revivalism and a return to the so-called ancient science, it is a retrograde step for the teaching of science and an onslaught on rational thinking and scientific temper.|url=https://thewire.in/education/biology-without-darwin-next-physics-without-newton-and-einstein}}</ref>, remove mentions of caste-based discrimination <ref name=":1947">{{Web citation|author=Hemant Waje|newspaper=[[Rediff]]|year=2024|title= NCERT axes caste-based discrimination in Class 6 books|quote=The textbook, titled "Exploring Society India and Beyond", has details on the Vedas without mentioning the caste system and that women and Shudras were not allowed to study these scriptures.

According to the new book, "Many professions are mentioned in the vedic texts, such as agriculturist, weaver, potter, builder, carpenter, healer, dancer, barber, priest, etc."

The previous textbook said, "Some priests divided people into four groups called varnas.... Shudras could not perform any rituals. Often women were grouped with Shudras. Both women and Shudras were not allowed to study the Vedas."

"The priests also said that these groups were decided based on birth. For example, if one's father and mother were Brahmins, one would automatically become a Brahmin and so on...," the old book said.

The references were also tweaked in the COVID-19 rationalisation, which was earlier termed temporary by the NCERT to reduce burden..|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/report/ncert-axes-caste-based-discrimination-in-class-6-books/20240721.htm}}</ref>, deny the existence of the Babri masjid, whitewash atrocities committed in BJP-led states, removed content on the Mughal Empire, and added Islamophobic dog whistles. <ref name=":19">{{Web citation|author=Puniti Pandey|newspaper=[[NDTV]]|year=2021|title= Explained: What Are The Latest Changes In The NCERT Books?|quote=The revised Political Science textbooks for class 12 do not mention the Babri masjid but refer to it as a 'three-domed structure'.

Many sections have also been deleted from the book. These include BJP's 'rath yatra' from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya; the role of kar sevaks; communal violence in the wake of the demolition of the Babri masjid; President's rule in BJP-ruled states; and the BJP's expression of 'regret over the happenings at Ayodhya'.
...
A two-page table detailing achievements of Mughal emperors such as Humayun, Shah Jahan, Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb have also been removed.

The new Political Science textbook of Class 11, now says that political parties 'give priority to the interests of a minority group' with an eye on 'vote bank politics', which leads to 'minority appeasement'.|url=https://www.ndtv.com/education/explained-what-are-the-latest-changes-in-the-ncert-books-5916113}}</ref>

== References ==
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[[Category:Global south]]
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Asian countries]]