The NCERT has reconstituted the textbook development team for the Class 11 and 12 political science textbooks, with the panels tasked with developing the Class 11 textbook by November and the Class 12 book by July 2027.The 20-member team includes political consultants, academics and educationists, some of whom have associations with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the BJP.The textbook team will be led by political analyst Sandeep Shastri, who is also vice-president of Karnataka-based deemed university Nitte.According to the LinkedIn profile of Yadunath Deshpande, a senior consultant with the Ministry of Education, he was associated with the ABVP in Mumbai and worked as a political consultant for the BJP from August 2018 to October 2019.Prashant Divekar, head of the Teacher Education Centre and Research Programme at Jnana Prabodhini, Pune, is also part of the team. Jnana Prabodhini is an RSS-affiliated institution.The team also comprises Dr M.N. Suresh Kumar, Professor, Department of Political Science, Government First Grade College, Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru; Prakash Kandpal from JNU; Needhi Gupta from National Law University; Chetan Singhai from Chanakya University; Sukanshika Vatsa from Delhi University; Satish Kumar from IGNOU; Deevanshu Shrivastava from National University of Study and Research in Law; Pranav Gupta from Jindal Global Law School; Nanda Kishor from Pondicherry University; and Swapna Prabhu from Utkal University.Other members include Diana Isabel from Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation School and N. Bharani from SHVNM Government PU College for Girls.Vanthangpui Khobung and Subhash Singh of the NCERT will serve as member coordinator and co-coordinator, respectively.According to the terms of reference in the notification issued by the NCERT, the textbook development team can involve experts, teachers or an illustrator as special invitees for specific areas as required, subject to the final approval of the NCERT Director.“Review of each of the textbooks will take place to oversee the integration of cross-cutting themes, such as cultural rootedness, Indian Knowledge Systems, inclusion, educational technology, assessment, etc.” NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said in the notification.Earlier, historian Arjun Dev, who was associated with the NCERT for a long time, had also served as a member of the All India Students’ Federation and the Communist Party of India. Dr Pankaj Pushkar, who was a member of a textbook development committee, later became an AAP MLA.