New Delhi, June 24 -- Nearly five decades after the Emergency was imposed in India, NCERT has, for the first time, introduced the topic in a Class 9 textbook, presenting it as "one of the major challenges," as the majority of fundamental rights were suspended.

The reference appears in the newly developed Social Science textbook, Understanding Society: India and Beyond, where the Emergency has been included in a chapter examining the strengths and challenges of Indian democracy.

An official at NCERT has confirmed that this is the first time that a section on Emergency has been added in Class 9th textbook.

The inclusion marks a significant addition to the school curriculum, coming as the country recently observed 50 years since the decla...