India, June 26 -- A war of words broke out between the BJP and Congress on Wednesday after the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) included a section on Emergency in its class 9 social science textbook. Earlier, the topic was part of the class 12 school curriculum. The textbook refers to the period as "one of the major challenges to democracy in India."

"One of the major challenges to democracy in India was recorded when an Emergency was imposed in 1975-77. In the early 1970s, public dissatisfaction with the government led by Indira Gandhi was growing. Rising unemployment, inflation, and allegations of misgovernance led to widespread protests," said the paragraph in the newly developed Social Science textbook "U...