The error, spotted in the "Did you know?" section of the "1,000s Around Us" chapter, has sparked outrage among netizens, educationists, and wildlife experts in Assam.
According to the reports, the textbook features an illustration of a two-horned rhino accompanied by text that inaccurately describes the Indian rhinoceros, stating its presence in the Himalayan foothills of Northeast India and mentioning threats like floods and the medicinal value of its horn.
The factually incorrect information mischaracterizes the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) as having a single horn. The only other two-horned rhino species in Asia is the Sumatran rhinoceros.
Among the users, Udoy Bhaskar Borah, taking to his social media handle X, stated, "The recently published NCERT class 4 Math textbook shows an Indian rhino with two horns (Pg 45). Such mistakes are not acceptable in an NCERT textbook."
Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, the Assam-based chair of the Asian Rhino Specialist Group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, stated, "The greater one-horned rhino's name should have made it clear that it has one horn. These rhinos are also largely found in the floodplains ecosystem of Assam, besides the foothills of the Himalayas."
Talukdar further criticized the NCERT for mentioning the "medicinal value" of rhino horns, fearing it could inadvertently normalize poaching in the minds of young learners. He also pointed out the crucial ecological role of floods in the Assam floodplains, a natural phenomenon essential for the ecosystem's health.
Reports confirmed that, following the controversy, Assam’s Education Minister, Ranoj Pegu, has directed the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to investigate the matter.
"I have not seen the NCERT textbook. If it is indeed erroneous, the SCERT will inform the NCERT," the Minister assured.
Notably, the NCERT textbook states, "The Indian rhinoceros is found in the foothills of the Himalayas in Northeast India. Floods and the perceived medicinal value of their horns have reduced their population. In the early 1900s, their population dwindled to near extinction, with as few as 200 rhinoceroses. However, recent conservation measures have increased their numbers to around 4,000."
