India, April 18 -- Musical instruments and ragas (melodic framework) Santoor, Mridang, Tabla, Veena, and Poorvi inspired the modification of textbook titles to instil a sense of Indian identity in the young generation, a top National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) official said on Friday amid criticism over the move in southern states.

Kerala general education and employment minister V Sivankutty criticised Hindi names of English-medium books and accused the Union government of cultural imposition and sabotaging the country's linguistic diversity.

Tamil Nadu Congress chief K Selvaperunthagai demanded the immediate withdrawal of Hindi titles for English textbooks. "This cannot be accepted," said Selvaperunthagai.

T...