Political Ideology

Social science textbooks are not and cannot be objective or unbiased. What is included and what is excluded in a textbook indicates the ideology and the aims of the textbooks, whether the aims are stated or unstated. The questions are: Which ideology? Which aims? Some excerpts from the present NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks indicate unstated aims of facilitating students' conformation and integration into the present social system. This is indicated by the use--and absence--of terms and concepts such as "capitalism" in these textbooks. Apparently the unstated aim is that if capitalism remains un-understood and unanalysed, it may not be questioned, and students will not realise that there is any alternative to capitalism. In the present circumstances, what can a textbook maker who stands on the left do?

Language has been intimately related to ideology and power in Pakistan. While Urdu is conspicuous as a symbol of Pakistani identity and national integration, other ethnic groups have seen this as a version of internal colonialism. Indigenous languages thus become tools that serve to assert ethnic identity and ensure a wider mobilisation.