The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced a significant change in its newly released Class 8 Social Science textbook by explicitly recognising economic background
as a ground for discrimination, placing it alongside caste, religion, race, gender, disability and other traditional identity markers.
The change appears in ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond‘, the second part of the revised Class 8 Social Science textbook that was released after an earlier version was withdrawn following intervention by the Supreme Court over controversial content relating to the judiciary.
In the chapter titled ‘Citizenship: Rights and Duties‘, the textbook states: “Discrimination is mistreating any person or group because of their caste, religion, ethnicity, disability, race, physical appearance, gender, sexuality, or economic background. This is not only unethical, but also legally prohibited.”
The chapter further explains that children from economically disadvantaged families can face prejudice and unequal treatment, alongside discrimination based on appearance, gender, sexuality or other personal characteristics. By introducing economic background into its definition, the textbook seeks to familiarise middle-school students with the idea that poverty and financial disadvantage can also become reasons for exclusion and bias.
The revision comes at a time when the definition of discrimination has become the subject of intense public debate following the Centre’s UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026.
The UGC notified regulations define discrimination as unfair or biased treatment on the grounds of religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth or disability. However, they do not explicitly include economic background or economic disadvantage as a protected category.
This omission drew criticism from several petitioners challenging the regulations. They have argued that while the framework aims to protect students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and other recognised groups, it does not adequately address discrimination faced by students from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) or those who experience bias primarily because of their financial circumstances.
Against this backdrop, the NCERT’s revised textbook stands out for adopting a broader understanding of discrimination. Instead of limiting the discussion to constitutionally recognised identity-based categories, it introduces economic vulnerability as a distinct basis on which individuals, particularly children, may experience exclusion or unfair treatment in everyday life.
The addition is among the most notable updates in the revised curriculum because it introduces the concept at the school level, encouraging students to recognise that social exclusion is not always rooted only in caste, religion or gender, but can also stem from poverty and unequal economic circumstances.
