Professor Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar, and Alok Prasanna Kumar have defended their role in the now-withdrawn Class 8 social science chapter on judiciary. In an affidavit to the Supreme Court, Danino stated the chapter was a collective effort with no individual authorship, and there was no intent to malign the institution.
The three filed separate affidavits, saying the chapter was the outcome of an exercise by a 51-member Textbook Development Team (TDT), with 15 active contributors. Danino disputed claims that drafts were shared only amongst a few members digitally, stating they were circulated through a Google group of over 40 members.
Diwakar clarified her role as chief consultant in the programme office of the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) was limited to coordination and facilitation, with no authorial or evaluative responsibility. Kumar said he was surprised at being singled out, stressing that NCERT policy does not recognise individual authorship.
The Supreme Court had directed the Centre, states, and publicly funded institutions to disassociate the three from curriculum development and textbook preparation. However, they were allowed to seek modification, following which they approached the court.
Defending the chapter, Danino said there was no intention to malign the judiciary and that the content aligned with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework-School Education 2023.
