Akbar brutal but tolerant, Babur ruthless: New NCERT textbook’s description of Mughal era
NCERT’s new Class 8 textbook presents Mughal rulers like Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb with a critical lens, highlighting brutality, intolerance, and resistance. It also emphasises resilience and valor by leaders like Shivaji, Rani Durgavati, and Maharana Pratap
New Delhi: Akbar’s regime was a blend of “brutality” and “tolerance”, Babur a “ruthless conqueror” while Aurangzeb was a “military ruler” who reimposed taxes on non-muslims, says the NCERT’s new Class 8 textbook while describing the reign of Mughal emperors.
The book, “Exploring Society: India and Beyond”, released this week, is the first in the new NCERT curriculum to introduce students to the Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Marathas and the colonial era.
While earlier versions covered some of these topics in Class 7, the NCERT says the timeline has now been shifted entirely to Class 8, in line with the recommendations of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023.
At the beginning of the book is a section titled “Note on Some Darker Periods in History”, where the NCERT offers context for the inclusion of sensitive and violent events, primarily war and bloodshed. The note urges students to understand “the historical origin of cruel violence, abusive misrule or misplaced ambitions of power” dispassionately and states, “No one should be held responsible today for events of the past.”
In the new book, the chapter covering Indian history from the 13th to the 17th century – “Reshaping India’s Political Map” – spans the rise and fall of the Delhi Sultanate and resistance to it, the Vijayanagara Empire, the Mughals and the resistance to them, and the rise of the Sikhs.
Describing Babur as a “brutal and ruthless conqueror, slaughtering entire populations of cities”, and Aurangzeb as a military ruler who destroyed temples and gurdwaras, the NCERT’s new Class 8 Social Science textbook, which introduces students to the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, points to “many instances of religious intolerance” during the period.
While the book notes Akbar’s reign as a “blend of brutality and tolerance” for different faiths, it also mentions that “non-Muslims were kept in a minority in the higher echelons of the administration”. Akbar is portrayed as having “ordered the massacre of some 30,000 civilians” after the siege of Chittorgarh.
Referring to “jiziya”, a tax that some sultans imposed on non-Muslim subjects to grant them protection and exemption from military service, the book says that the tax was a source of public humiliation and formed a financial and social incentive for subjects to convert to Islam. In the old Class 7 book, “jiziya” was described as a tax paid by non-Muslims initially along with land tax, but later as a separate one.
The chapter also notes that despite this, “Indian society showed adaptability and resilience in rebuilding towns, cities, temples and other aspects of the economy” during this period under both the Mughals and the Delhi Sultanate. While the Sultanate and Mughal sections deal with dark themes, the textbook also celebrates resistance and resilience. Chapters on the Marathas, Ahoms, Rajputs and Sikhs highlight figures like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Tarabai and Ahilyabai Holkar, portraying them as visionary leaders who contributed to cultural and political developments.
Shivaji is described as a master strategist in the textbook, who upheld Hindu values while respecting other religions. The book notes his efforts in rebuilding desecrated temples. Michel Danino, Head, NCERT’s Curricular Area Group for Social Science, defended the textbook, asserting there is no attempt to demonise Mughal rulers.
Union Minister of State BL Verma also echoed his views, saying the next generation should learn about them. “Mughals ruled us for a long. The next generation should learn about it. We should accept the truth. The next generation should study what all happened,” Verma told reporters in Lucknow.
The new Class 8 textbook also has a section on heroic resistance to the Mughals, including by the Jat peasants who managed to kill a Mughal officer, and the Bhil, Gond, Santhal and Koch tribal communities, which fought to protect their territories. It provides information on Rani Durgavati of one of the Gond kingdoms, who fought against Akbar’s army. Sections have also been added on the escape of Mewar ruler Maharana Pratap, and the resistance of the Ahoms to Aurangzeb’s army in northeastern India.
