The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has implemented major changes in its class 6 to 12 Social Science and History textbooks. Key topics such as the Mughal Empire, India’s Partition and several other chapters have either been reduced or removed.
In Class 7 textbooks, content about the Mughals and the Delhi Sultanate has been completely removed. One chapter notes that “no one should be held responsible today for events of the past”. While the Delhi Sultanate was covered in Class 7 earlier, the new syllabus now places the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, and the Marathas in Class 8.
Notably, for classes 8 and higher, the Mughals and Sultanates remain but are presented in a different way. Instead of a timeline-based story of their rule, the focus is now on critical views, such as highlighting religious intolerance and discussing the flaws of Mughal governance.
NCERT says these edits are part of a “rationalisation” process meant to make the syllabus lighter and reduce repetitive lessons.
Key changes in the textbook
Alauddin Khilji’s campaigns
The book states that Alauddin Khilji’s lieutenant, Malik Kafur, attacked several Hindu centres, including Srirangam, Madurai, Chidambaram, and possibly Rameswaram.
Temple destruction during the Delhi Sultanate
It mentions “numerous attacks on sacred images in Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu temples”. The destruction was driven not just by plunder but also by iconoclasm (the destruction of religious symbols).
Jizya Tax
The textbook explains that some sultans imposed the Jizya tax on non-Muslims. It served as a financial and social incentive to convert to Islam and caused public humiliation. Jizya was described as a tax initially collected with land tax and later separately in previous class 7 textbooks.
Babur: The First Mughal Emperor
Babur is shown as educated and curious, according to his own autobiography. But the book also talks about his brutal side, like killing whole cities, enslaving women and children and building “towers of skulls” from the people he defeated.