What is in the Class 8’s New Social Science Curriculum?
- July 16, 2026, 11:32 a.m.
NCERT is getting ready to reissue its controversial Grade 8 Social Science textbook, “Exploring Society: India and Beyond”, 4 months after the SC ordered its withdrawal. The meeting plans to bring out the textbook’s revised edition by the 3rd week of June, based on senior sources within NCERT.
What got modified?
The controversy started in February when the SC objected to Chapter 4 portions that talked about the big reserve of pending court cases and judicial corruption. The Court guided NCERT to remove all digital and physical copies of the textbook at once. NCERT published an apology and reported the inclusion of the objectionable content as a judgment error in response.
NCERT launched an expert review committee to analyse the advocated revisions and textbook, following the Court's order. The case was pulled up for care because the SC's March 11 order efficiently kept 3 academics required in preparing the textbook,
Educator Suparna Diwakar, legal scholar Alok Prasanna Kumar and Padma Shri awardee Michel Danino were stopped from taking part in publicly funded textbook and curriculum projects. The Court returned its previous decision, removed the order, and withdrew its observations against the 3 academics in May.
Ready for Re-publishing
NCERT has finished the internal approval procedure for the improved manuscript and has sent it for printing. The re-publishing arrives at a crucial time, as schools throughout the country are already well into the new academic session. A lot of schools have missed access to the textbook since its detachment.
NCERT had printed nearly 2.25 lakh copies, but only 38 copies had been sold before the SC ordered the seizure of the book. Now, NCERT expects to distribute the revised edition to schools by the 3rd week of June, setting the return of one of the most widely considered NCERT textbooks in recent years.
