Why India Removed Darwin's Theory of Evolution from Textbooks

The Indian government has recently removed the chapter on Charles Darwin's 'Theory of Biological Evolution' from the textbooks compiled by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for classes 9 and 10 in government schools on the grounds of 'rationalizing the curriculum' , according to The Hindu.

The Indian government's removal of this theory as well as the introduction of the Bhagavad Gita (a part of the Hindu epic Vedas) in schools in some states from 2022 has sparked a huge public debate.

The Indian government has just decided to remove lectures on Darwin's Theory of Evolution from textbooks.

The BJP has long been known to target Darwin's Theory of Evolution. In 2018, then Union Human Resource Development Minister Satyapal Singh had stated that Darwin's Theory of Evolution was scientifically incorrect and should not be taught in schools, arguing that "nobody witnessed it".

The former minister further asserted that since humans were seen on Earth, they have always existed as humans. In other words, he strongly supported the idea of Creationism, which holds that humans are created and not the product of evolution.

In the last century, evolution and creationism have been seen as rivals. Even American scientists have struggled with the debate between the two. Creationists have sought to give equal priority to the teaching of evolution and creation in schools.

In fact, the state of Arkansas has passed a law on this issue. Although the state government has not explicitly stated that the Theory of Evolution is unscientific like former Minister Singh, they have tried to convince the theory of Creationism is scientific. The constitutionality of the law in Arkansas has been controversial in the scientific community.

It is known that previously, since 2017, the Theory of Evolution was removed from Turkish textbooks. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and the Islamist-based Justice and Development Party are said to advocate changing the country's secular foundation by promoting a conservative agenda with strict regulations. The Theory of Evolution is strongly rejected by both Christianity and Islam because this believer believes that God is the creator of the world as stated in the Bible and the Koran.

Creationism holds that all animals and plants were created by a divine act of a divine creator and have existed since creation, meaning that all things are created by God.

Darwinism offers a powerful rebuttal to theological beliefs, stating that all living things arise, develop, and evolve through random mutations and natural selection. That is, if species A evolved into species B, there must have been intermediate species between A and B. These generations are extinct, but according to Darwin, their fossils must lie underground in large numbers and sooner or later science will find them. If they are not found, his theory will be in danger.

Creationists have rejected Darwin's theory of evolution and demand that Creationism be taught as a science on par with Evolution.