If one carefully observes the competency statement given at the beginning of this textbook, words such as ‘describe’, ‘illustrate’, ‘explain’, ‘demonstrate’, ‘point out’, ‘compare’ and ‘assess’ are used to copious degrees. In March 2020, there were 2,32,746 students who had registered for Sociology. This textbook is prescribed by all 7,000 colleges Maharashtra affiliated with the state board. In the preface of the book, Vivek Gosavi, director of the Bureau, mentions that the focus of the Class 12 sociology syllabus is “ …on understanding different groups within our society, various social problems, social movements and social change from the viewpoint of the Indian context”. The Board’s Class 12 sociology textbook, titled, Understanding Indian Society was published by Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, Pune, in 2020.Īlso read: The Creativity of Liberal Arts Versus the Speed of Digital Culture Every year, the maximum number of students in the state from various socio-economic backgrounds appear for their Class 10 and 12 exam through this Board. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is an autonomous body in charge of secondary and higher secondary education in the state. However, the Maharashtra State Board’s Class 12 sociology textbook is neither written prudently, nor does it provide any insight to differentiate ‘common sense’ from sociological knowledge. Therefore, it is imperative that textbooks are written with the utmost prudence and foresight. In a developing country like India, the textbook remains the only source through which students and teachers may have access to it. The manner in which a subject gets introduced at the level of secondary education plays a crucial role in stimulating and sustaining a student’s interest in the same. This issue has also been discussed extensively by scholars like Chaudhari, Deshpande, Beteille, and many others. The root cause of this widely and tightly adhered to perception cannot be traced without understanding the journey of a sociology student, introduced to the subject as they are, through faulty textbooks. One of the key reasons for this has been the widespread misconception that sociology is merely a collection of understandings, perceptions and judgements of social phenomena that can be figured out in the realms of ‘everyday, practical life’ and ‘common sense’.

The social sciences in general and sociology in particular have always been last in the pecking order when a student chooses a subject to specialise in at the graduate level.

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