Textbooks dominate the teaching-learning process of Indian classrooms. The origin of textbooks in India can be traced back to colonial times. This conversation endeavours to explore the origin of textbooks and its evolution in the Indian context, the connection of textbook with other documents like National Education Policy, National or State Curriculum Framework, and Syllabus. It will touch upon the process of textbook preparation, factors that contribute to deciding content and pedagogy presented in the textbook, and inherent tension in the process of developing textbooks for a diverse country like India. 

The future of textbooks would stem from an effort of resolving the tensions of textbook making. This could happen through a mixture of deliberative approach and commitment to the constitutional vision informed by educational theories. 

Discussants:

C N Subramaniam: C N Subramaniam studied history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, obtaining his M Phil degree with a dissertation on the history of agriculture in medieval South India. He taught history at Delhi University for a short while, before joining Eklavya, Bhopal, in 1984, where he was also the Director. He has written widely on several aspects of school education, especially on curriculum and textbooks for social sciences, and has participated in several national and state-level curriculum and textbook development exercises. He is currently a visiting faculty at Azim Premji University, Bhopal.

Varadarajan Narayanan: Varadarajan Narayanan is a member of the School of Education, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. He is also associated with the Schoolbooks Archive project.