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NCERT has made several changes in the Class 6 textbook. According to the new revised edition, there was a meridian before the Greenwich meridian, which passed through Ujjain. Also, the textbook does not mention caste-based discrimination; while the Harappan civilization taught till now has been described as the Indus-Saraswati civilization.
According to a new social science textbook, the Greenwich Meridian is not the first prime meridian, there have been others in the past. In fact, many centuries before Europe, India had its own prime meridian, called the Madhyarekha, and it passed through the city of Ujjayini (present-day Ujjain), which was a reputed centre of astronomy for many centuries. The new book refers to the Harappan civilisation as the Indus-Saraswati civilisation. The Saraswati river has been mentioned several times in the chapter 'Beginnings of Indian Civilisation' in the textbook. It says the Saraswati river ghat included the major cities of the civilisation, Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala, as well as smaller cities and towns.
There is no mention of caste based discrimination
The changes made in the textbook developed according to the new syllabus do not mention caste-based discrimination at all. The reference to BR Ambedkar's experience on discrimination has been modified. It describes the Vedas and states that women and Shudras have no right to study these texts. It is worth noting that the old textbook stated that some priests had divided people into four classes called Narhabriyavastha. Women and Shudras were not allowed to study Vedic studies. Women were also placed in the Shudra class.
