INDEX

1. Objective of Content Analysis

2. Procedure of Content Analysis

Content Analysis of Class IX Social Science

3.
Textbook
Syllabus & Textbooks Salient Features
Chapter-wise Themes and Objectives

4. Findings of the Study

5. Recommendations
 ObjEctIvE Of thE ANAlysIs

This analysis aims to:

1. Compare the level – rights, freedom, democracy, justice,
tolerance and peace – in the grade 9 NCERT Social Studies
textbook.
2. Propose suggestions to improve the content on human rights in
the textbook.

PrOcEDurE Of cONtENt ANAlysIs

It is a descriptive type of research. Under descriptive research document

analysis method was used. The content of the textbook was analyzed.
Following steps were followed in analyzing the content:

1. Determine what to be analyzed. - Textbook of Grade 9 (Political

science) was decided to select for content analysis.
2. Select units for analysis – Chapter wise analysis of theme and
objectives.
3. Decide what to count - In the present study, Class 9th political
science was selected to analyze the content.
4. Calculate the percentages - Percentages were calculated for each
Rights and also for each standard.
5. Analyze and interpret the results - Results were interpreted
 cONtENt ANAlysIs Of clAss IX
sOcIAl scIENcE tEXtbOOk –
DEmOcrAtIc POlItIcs I

cONtENt
chAPtEr 1 – DEmOcrAcy IN thE
cONtEmPOrAry WOrlD

chAPtEr 2- WhAt Is DEmOcrAcy? Why

DEmOcrAcy?

chAPtEr 3 - cONstItutIONAl DEsIgN

chAPtEr 4 - ElEctOrAl POlItIcs

chAPtEr 5 - WOrkINg Of INstItutIONs

chAPtEr 6 - DEmOcrAtIc rIght

 syllAbus & tEXtbOOks
sAlIENt fEAturEs

 Based on the National Curriculum Framework, 2005

Civics recast as Political Science at the Secondary Stage
(Classes 9–10) Textbooks for consciousness-raising, that
is, the process of making people aware of important social
and political issues Set a trend in Citizenship Education
Content is related to the student’s everyday life Critical
pedagogy Aim to promote Concept-based Teaching
Activity-based Learning Ongoing Assessment

 Democratic Politics–I begins with detailed case studies of

Chile and Poland, both members of the Community of
Democracies (CD). This textbook and the Class X
Textbook, Democratic Politics–II also refer to other CD
members such as the USA, South Africa, Mexico, Canada,
and democratic leaders from the CD members such as
Abraham Lincoln, Lech Walesa, Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Michelle Bachelet, Nelson Mandela, Oscar Arias Sanchez,
and Rosa Parks.

Learners are initiated into a deeper understanding of idea

and practice of democracy in contemporary India and
different parts of the world Focus on the foundations of
the Indian Constitution, i.e. in-depth discussion of
justice, liberty, equality, fraternity Discussions from
multiple perspectives, including those of the women,
minorities, disabled and other disadvantaged sections

Case studies and examples from real life Literary

elements: Poems, novels, short stories Visual elements:
cartoons (Indian & foreign), maps, movies, newspaper
clippings & collages, photos, posters Unni–Munni
comments / queries / dialogues.
ANAlysIs Of thE cONtENt Is mENtIONED IN thE fOllOWINg

The vision of the book is to make the learner aware about democracy, from
multiple perspectives. It takes the learners on a journey of democracy where
it, specially, talks about democratic processes with reference to the
constitution, electoral politics, functioning of the institutions and
fundamental rights. The book appears to have a positive attitude towards
democracy and its processes.

The chapter, ‘Democracy in the Contemporary World’,

discusses different, actual incidents across the world of the making and
unmaking of democracy, with some comprehension tasks and activities.
These stories are meant to give a sense of what it means to experience
democracy and its absence.
The chapter first presents the pattern of the spread of democracy within a
country, but towards the end of the chapter, democracy or its absence in
terms of its relations between different countries has been given. The
functioning of some international organizations has been presented, which
raises the relevant question that are we moving towards democracy at the
global level?
With the help of examples of Chile and Poland, two features of democracy
have been discussed.

First, only leaders elected by the people should rule the nation and second,
that people have the freedom to express their views, freedom to organize,
and freedom to protest. It is important to mention that the spread of
democracy has been seen because of World War II.
The internal struggle of a nation has not been acknowledged and there are
some statements in the book that are quite problematic. For instance, in the
example of Ghana, it has been said that, “After independence, Nkrumah
became the first prime minister and, then, the president of Ghana. He was a
friend of Jawaharlal Nehru and an inspiration for democracy in Africa. But,
unlike Nehru, he got himself elected president for life.” These lines are quite
unclear: What was Nehru’s contribution? Did he have the right to be the
prime minister for a life time and did he refuse? What do these lines mean?
The text book should avoid such biased statements without evidence.
A very relevant issue of expanding democracy, American hegemony, the Iraq
issue, and the possibility of a world government has been presented in this
chapter. The questions given here lead to a discussion toward international
organizations such as the UNO. The voting system in the UNO has been
criticized, which is based on financial contribution. The USA hegemony has,
also, been highlighted with reference to Iraq.

To strengthen the understanding about democracy, the chapter, ‘What

is Democracy? Why Democracy?’ has been included in the book. This
chapter explains and elaborates upon the meaning of democracy, with
its minimum features and tries to explain why democracy is the best
available way of governance.
The election has been the core of discussion on democracy, but, it is
important to highlight that only an election is not the core of
democracy. There are many other aspects, such as, rights, liberties,
equalities, which also form the core of a democratic government. An
election may happen in many states, but not, necessarily, be
democratic. For unfair elections, examples of China and Mexico have
been taken. In this regard, some examples could also have been taken
from India, to contextualize the concept.
Democracy has been presented as the best form of governance. What
could also have been discussed is how people become active only at the
time of elections, which ruins the spirit of democracy.

‘Constitutional Design’, is the title of the third chapter. It discusses the

making, need, relevance and importance of the constitution in a democratic
nation. The chapter starts with the examples of South Africa and the struggle
of Mandela. The kind of racial discrimination, rejection of humanity that
existed there, became the core cause for the need of a constitution.
A discussion about the making of the constitution of India has been
presented, starting with a discussion on the diversity present in
contemporary times. But, there no discussion on relevant issues, such as the
change in the judicial system in India, post-independence, but not in the
police system in India has been given. The discomfort of Ambedkar,
regarding social equality, has been highlighted, with reference to the
constitution. Quoting Ambedkar, “the Constitution says that there will be
one person, one vote and one value which will be followed in political life
but, in social life, the value of the individual is not equal.” The importance of
the preamble of the Indian constitution has been theoretically discussed.
Chapter 4, ‘Electoral Politics’ presents the election situation, in India
and other associated concepts such as whose representatives get elected in
democracy? Why is election needed in a democracy? What makes an election
democratic? and so on. The chapter starts with an example from Haryana,
mentioning how people changed the government from Congress to Lokdal
and, then, back to the Congress. Such statements reflect a biased
understanding. The discussion is followed by a few questions, in which one
of the questions asked was: “The Governor invited Devi Lal to become the
Chief Minister because he was impressed with his speeches.” Such
statements make students think in a predefined direction, which is not
justified.
The chapter Favors open competition for democratic elections in democracy.
It states that, without competition, elections cannot be fair. But competition
also creates problems in the system, such as politics of fake propaganda,
money, casteism, regionalism and so on, which, completely, ruins the spirit
of election. The chapter argues that if people do not like the government and
if the government does not work in Favor of the masses, in the next election
they may reject that party, for instance, if one shopkeeper does not have a
good deal with you, you will go to the next shop. It is very strange that a
shop has been considered equal to a nation. Such examples destroy the
importance of the concept itself. Is running the nation similar to running a
shop? Such examples are inappropriate and unjustified.

The formation of electoral constituencies, with regard to reserved seats for

SC/ST, has been discussed. What is also important is that the information of
the nomination form should be publicly displayed, so that a better selection
in the elections can be done. But unfortunately, we do not have such a
system in India and such understanding has not been presented in the book.
In the same way, the guidelines regarding making complaints have been
discussed only theoretically. Everything has been presented as if there is no
problem in the election process in India. No functional knowledge has been
given in the chapter, regarding the rights, duties and elections, which is a
serious concern. For instance, there is no discussion on the procedure to file
dissent regarding elections.

The chapter, ‘Working of Institutions’, discusses the functioning of the

legislative, executive and judiciary, in brief. The issue of OBC (Other
Backward Classes) reservation has been discussed to explain the role of the
judiciary. The chapter talks about the need for political institutions in
democracy. The need for parliament has been shown, with reference to the
supreme body, which makes laws for the nation, gets them amended, and
decides where the capital of the government will be used. The Prime
Minister has been discussed as an institution, where, it has been said, that
the leader of the majority parity will be the Prime Minister. But this is not
true. The present government is proof that it is not necessary to be the
leader of the party to become prime minister.
The judicial system has been discussed without the concept of judicial
activism, which is inappropriate. Judicial activism means that people are
losing trust in the executive. Such critical perspectives are missing.

Chapter six, ‘Democratic Rights’, deals, more, with the perspective of

rights in the book. It has been discussed that if we do not have rights, then
what will happen? What kind of life will we be living? Basically, fundamental
rights have been explained in this chapter, with the help of some reallife
incidents. The role played by rights in our life, in recent years, has, also,
been discussed. Examples of Guantanamo Bay and Saudi Arab have been
taken to explain the concept. The chapter has elaborated upon the
fundamental rights given in the Indian constitution. Different rights have
been explained, but how these rights are being violated is missing. Right to
food has not been discussed and not even been defended. This is a matter of
serious concern and needs to be addressed.
 Thematic Analysis
Democracy

The book, broadly, talks about democracy, its way of working, establishment
and challenges. It discusses the making and unmaking of democracy, in
different parts of the world. The book discusses, extensively, the struggle of
different nations for democracy and democratic processes such as Chile,
Poland and so on. The common emphasis, in reference to democracy is the
elections and the freedom of speech. Incomplete information has been given,
such as the Second World War, which has been shown as the core of the
spread of democracy in the world. But this is only, partially, correct.

ambiguities

Certain examples have been very ambiguously given such as: regarding
Ghana’s President. It has been said that, unlike Nehru, he got himself elected
as the President for life, which Nehru did not. Such lines imply that Nehru
could, also, have become President for the rest of his life, but he did not do
that. What is the need to include these lines, if there is no hidden agenda?
This question remains unanswered.
Arguments regarding the global government have been given, both in favor
and against. An international agency, such as the UNO has been discussed.
But its critical perspective has been ignored, which should have been
included. How the IMF determines the policies of other nations has not been
touched upon, which could have been done.
The case of Iraq has been discussed regarding the establishment of
democracy by the USA, but it has not been discussed as to who gave this
authority to the USA. Therefore, what happened and its critical analysis are
two different things. Only what has happened had been discussed from one
perspective. But why it happened, we do not know.
the NeeD for Democracy

The need for democracy has been shown in terms of the participation of the
people for governance and their contribution to policy-making, but how does
it happen has not been discussed, except in the portion dealing with
elections. The value of one person, one vote and one value has been
discussed, but how do the economic conditions affect this value, has not been
included. The chapter has emphasized accountability towards the people and
quality in decision-making. In some places, the need for democracy has been
shown with reference to other nations such as China and so on, in such a
way, that it criticizes their governance. However, the perspective to analyze
the situation and question the system is not effective.

the coNstitutioN iN a Democracy

The book talks about the need of the Constitution in a democratic nation. To
establish the need of the Constitution, by giving certain examples from
different parts of the world such as South Africa, America, regarding racial
and other kinds of discrimination, but no examples have been taken from
India to prove the need for a constitutional democracy.
The argument given for the importance of a constitution is that, in a
democracy, the decisions are taken, with certain rules and these rules frame
the Constitution. This method of representing the need of a constitution is
not wrong, but is incomplete, and needs to be rethought. To protect the
rights of the minorities is, also, a reason to have the Constitution, so that a
peaceful life can be ensured for the people.
Certain thought-provoking discussions have been given, such as the last
speech of Dr. Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly in which he said that
we will be politically equal, but will be socially and economically divided.
There will be one person, one vote and one value but, socially, the value of a
person will be different in many aspects.

electioNs

The overall representation of the elections is to prove that only democratic

nations have elections, which is not true when we look at nations, such as
China, in the world. The book seems to prove that the elected members are
better representatives of the people. Certain measures have been discussed
to have free and fair elections. But, the political rights and that all the
citizens can fight for a seat in the elections needs to be discussed in social
and economic terms, regarding the extent to which it is possible. Discussing
this dimension will help learners to understand the democratic processes,
critically. Other measures, such as a fixed amount of money to be spent, no
use of the government amenities and property, in elections, need to be
discussed in comparison with what, actually, happens. Why does democracy
seem to believe what is on paper, rather than what actually happens? Using
vague sentences such as, ‘the poor cast more votes than the rich, in India’,
without giving any reason, does not provide a supportive argument for why
the poor casts more votes than the rich.

the WorkiNg of the iNstitutioNs

The Legislature, Executive and Judiciary and their functions have been
discussed, quite vaguely. How the House of the People celebrates more
power than the House of the States, has been discussed. But, the role of the
House of the States has, only, been discussed, as a subordinate of the House
of People. For instance, if any bill is passed by the House of the People, the
House of the States, ultimately, cannot stop it and can only delay the process.
But, the House of the States has its own importance and significance in a
parliamentary democracy, which needs to be acknowledged. In the same
way, the role of the President has been shown as purely ceremonial, which is
not correct. The history of politics in India knows that the Presidents in
India have played a very significant role in decision-making.

With reference to the Judiciary, important information such as the judicial

With reference to the Judiciary, important information such as the judicial
activism and judicial review, have not been discussed. It has as such not
touched upon as to why, in the present times, we always look towards the
Judiciary for everything. Does this imply that we do not trust the Legislature
and the Executive and have started doubting them? Why? Such concerns
need to be brought out in the book.
rights

The Fundamental Rights have been discussed with hypothetical and reallife
examples. It has been explained as to how and what kind of life we will have
without our rights. This has been explained with some examples, such as the
prison of Guantanamo Bay, Saudi Arabia, and so on. With the help of these
examples, it has tried to explain the fact that our life would become
miserable without rights. But, the argument that democratic governments
respect the rights does not fit here, because the USA has intervened in both
cases, even though it is a democratic nation. Or can we call it an
authoritative democracy? Such critical concepts have been ignored in the
book.
The Rights have been explained as a claim of a person to society and the
state and are associated with the dignity and respect of human beings. It has
also been argued that these rights should be rational. A kind of relationship
between rights and responsibilities should exist. The Rights should be
without any kind of discrimination. This has been discussed, but no
examples have been taken from India to explain this idea. Human trafficking,
equality, liberty rights have been discussed. A special box has been given on
the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), but only the formation and
the administration have been discussed, which is not sufficient.
 fINDINgs Of thE stuDy

The social sciences textbook of grade 9 of NCERT contains

a number of themes that directly address various concerns
of human rights. For instance, the book includes themes
such as India's freedom struggle, Constitutional
Obligations, Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties,
Directive Principles of State Policy and population growth,
etc., Themes like legal literacy, rights of citizens, child
rights, child labor, protecting elders and people with
disability, phenomena of growing corruption, problems of
terrorism in Punjab and Kashmir, insurgency in the
northeast region, Naxalite terrorism in various states like
West Bengal and Bihar, etc. help students to be fully
exposed to the socio-political realities of the country and
the world, their own duties as productive members of
society, while understanding the values enshrined in the
Constitution and the Curriculum Framework of 2000. A
sincere attempt has been made to modernize the syllabuses
without losing sight of India's rich cultural traditions and
values.
 rEcOmmENDAtIONs

Page No. 67- Cartoon may be deleted due to the possibility of negative
messaging. The cartoon shows a criminal politician as a dark man and a
gun man with him appears even more dark whereas the voter is coloured
as faired which seems to be showing stereotyping related to some
communities, which shows the violation of the right to discrimination.

Page No. 81- Cartoon focusing on Amul and reservation look like just
filling the space and also negative massage about reservation, thus can
be deleted to avoid violation of Right to Equality and Civic Rights.

Page No. 101- Caption Munni need be modified as “Is justice accessible
to rich and poor equally” so to advocate Right to Equality

Page No. 106- Caption below Unni should be modified from “The
Constitution does not give people their religion. Then how can it give
people the right to practice their religion?” TO If the Constitution is
secular why do we see religious pictures in public places thus advocating
the Right to Freedom of Religion and Culture.
.
As far as possible examples from India or from local situation may be
given. The word Dalit should not be used. In that place SC should be used
or it should be verified whether the replacement is legally fine.

Page No. 80- Read the image be deleted as there is no learning

 cONclusION

On the basis of analysis of the content of the textbook it is found that the
Human Right – Civil Right, right to freedom and Right to Equality and
respect of other are most reflected. This is because considering today’s
social political context, it is of utmost importance to imbibe these Rights
among students. So, these Rights might have been given more
importance in the curriculum. Injustice, exploitation, inequity,
discrimination, corruption, explosion, riots has also increased which
leads to the great threat to human existence. So, it becomes important to
inculcate the Human Right through curriculum. It is teacher’s
responsibility to discuss the issues and sensitize students about Human
Rights Recommendation.

Social science is an important part of our life and education; it is the

medium through which emotions, thoughts, experiences are expressed.
So while framing the curriculum for Social Science due care should be
taken to purposefully include those Human Rights in the content of the
textbook such kind of curriculum will develop responsible citizen for
tomorrow and India will become a developed nation

References:
Scholarly Research Journal for Humanity Science & English
Language, Online ISSN 2348-3083, SJ IMPACT FACTOR 2017:
5.068, www.srjis.com
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