India, March 1 -- The recent controversy surrounding a Class VIII NCERT textbook chapter on corruption in the judiciary has triggered an unusually strong response from the Supreme Court of India. The Court termed the matter serious and even questioned whether a mere apology from NCERT would suffice. Such a reaction is unprecedented. Never before has the institution found itself at the centre of a judicial storm of this magnitude.

At the heart of the issue is a chapter discussing corruption in the judiciary, written for children aged 13 to 14. It is important to note that discussions around corruption in other institutions - political systems, bureaucracy and governance structures - have appeared in textbooks in earlier classes as well. H...