Is NCERT Rewriting Medieval Indian History for Class 9? | In Focus Podcast
A podcast episode from The Hindu discusses the recent revisions to the Class 9 medieval history textbook by NCERT. The discussion focuses on whether the new curriculum shifts the historical narrative toward resistance and away from the contributions of the Mughal Empire.
Why it matters
Educational curriculum changes often spark significant debate regarding national identity and historical accuracy.
Last week the NCERT revised its book on medieval history for Class 9 students. The book, Understanding Society: India and Beyond, presents a long span of 700 years from 1000 AD to 1700 as one of resistance and resilience, a period when the Rajputs, the Jats, the Sikhs and the Ahoms resisted foreign invasions. The period is presented as the one in which the “Indian society not only defended itself from external threats but also preserved its traditions”.
In many ways this book is a continuation of the process of presenting history through a new prism, a process which began in 2023 and has seen each succeeding edition reduce the space given to the contribution of the Mughals in particular, and, as many historians point out, it “virtually reduces mediaeval Indian history to battles, blood and gore”.
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