History has always been my favourite subject since school days. The tales of past and the anecdotes of our ancestors kept me hooked to the textbooks but the recent revisions in the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) social science textbooks have twisted historic narrations. It sparks concerns over manipulation of history and imposition of biased narrative on young minds.
Recently, NCERT dropped portions covering Delhi Sultanate and Mughal emperors from secondary standard history textbooks where their rule, contribution, literature, architecture, and many significant aspects were previously mentioned. Although, Emperor Akbar’s tolerance is mentioned, there is a disproportionate weightage placed on his cruel actions. The new NCERT’s claims of Akbar carrying out the practice of Jizya (a tax on non-Muslims) and ordering the massacre of 30,000 people are questioned and contested by scholars and historians.
What I read and studied is what critics pointed out. They noted that Akbar is known to have abolished Jizya and the alleged massacre of 30,000 people lacks historical evidence. Rather than presenting a balanced view, the new books lean more towards the negative portrayal of the Mughal ruler.
From the 7th and 8th grade, chapters covering Mughal rule, Tipu Sultan, Raziya Sultan, Delhi Sultanate, and the colourful yet grey history of our diverse nation have been removed, while providing significant emphasis on Hindu warriors like Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This evidently shows the push for Hindu nationalism and the attempt to align the education system with the current regime’s ideology.
Mughal emperors are looked down upon as nothing but invaders by reducing their multi-faceted legacy to mere acts of violence and oppression. So stretched is the narrative that one of Shivaji’s raids on Mughal camps is compared to a ‘surgical strike.’ What is this jingoism? And how are we letting it happen?
(Courtesy: Amazon)
In 8th grade social science textbook, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, under the chapter-‘ The Rise of the Marathas,’ it is mentioned that,
“Shivaji raided Shaista Khan’s camp at night. The Khan barely escaped from the raid………….This daring raid resembles the modern-day surgical strike.”
It is not just the emperors whose past has been redefined, but also that of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and the Congress, who are partly blamed for Partition, in the new module titled ‘Partition Horrors’. Blaming prominent figures who are long dead is common now-a-days in parliaments and election speeches but ingraining the same subjectivity is preposterous and at the same time hysterical. These changes should raise concerns on conditioning of students towards a polarized political view.
The justification given for the new curriculum is that the revisions were intended to ease the stress on students by excluding “irrelevant” substance from earlier editions. But, if these new revisions are challenged and criticised by academics as ideologically driven, can the previous content be dismissed as irrelevant? The removal of Mughal dynasties, the one-sided attribution of blame for Partition, and the minimizing chapters on caste oppression and minorities struggles reflect a clear picture of communal reframing. This not only distorts the diverse image of our nation’s past but also molds students to interpret history through an exclusionary and selective lens. What the current generation is learning is not history, it is conveniently shaped historical fiction.
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