New Delhi, India, June 18 (HBTV): The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will use "Bharat" and "India" interchangeably in its textbooks. This move aligns with the country's Constitution, according to NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani. 

This decision follows a recommendation from a high-level panel working on the social science curriculum that suggested replacing "India" with "Bharat" in school textbooks for all classes.  

Saklani said both the words would be used in the books and that the council had no aversion to either 'Bharat' or 'India'.   

‘It is interchangeable. Our position is what our Constitution says and we uphold that. We can use Bharat; we can use India. What is the problem? We are not in that debate,’ he said.   

The previous year, a high-level committee for social sciences, formed by NCERT to revise the school curriculum, recommended that "India" be replaced with "Bharat" in textbooks for all classes. The committee, led by C I Isaac, also suggested introducing "classical history" instead of "ancient history" and including the Indian Knowledge System in the syllabus for all subjects. 

"The committee has unanimously recommended that the name Bharat should be used in the textbooks for students across classes. Bharat is an age-old name. The name Bharat has been used in ancient texts, such as Vishnu Purana, which is 7,000 years old," Isaac was quoted as having told PTI. 

The NCERT had previously stated that no decision had been made on the panel's recommendations.   

(Inputs from news agencies)