NCERT Introduces Emergency Chapter In Class 9 Social Science Books Under NEP 2020

NCERT has introduced the 1975–77 Emergency in the Class 9 Social Science syllabus for the first time under the revised NEP 2020 curriculum.

The topic, earlier taught in detail only in Class 12 Political Science, has been included in the new textbook Understanding Society: India and Beyond.

The revision aims to strengthen students' understanding of constitutional values, democratic institutions and modern Indian political history.

Emergency Introduced In Class 9 Curriculum

In a major curriculum revision under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the National Council of Educational Research and Training has, for the first time, included the 1975–77 National Emergency in the Class 9 Social Science syllabus.

The topic has been introduced in Chapter 6 of the newly released Social Science textbook, Understanding Society: India and Beyond (Grade 9, Part 1), marking a significant shift in the teaching of modern Indian political history at the secondary school level.

Until now, the Emergency was studied in detail primarily in Class 12 Political Science, where students examined its political, constitutional and democratic implications.

The inclusion is part of NCERT's comprehensive curriculum overhaul in line with the National Education Policy 2020, which seeks to make school education more multidisciplinary, competency-based and rooted in India's historical and constitutional developments.

 Focus On Constitutional Values

The curriculum update comes as 2026 marks 51 years since the National Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975.

Marking 50 years since the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to those who defended democratic values during the period. In a post on X, he said, "Today, we pay homage to all those who steadfastly defended democratic values during one of the darkest chapters in India's history, the Emergency."

The Emergency remained in force until March 1977 and is widely regarded as one of the most significant periods in independent India's political history, during which civil liberties were suspended, press censorship was imposed and elections were postponed.

By introducing the topic at the Class 9 level, NCERT aims to familiarise students with this pivotal phase in India's democratic journey at an earlier stage of their education.