New NCERT textbooks streamline Mughal period under NEP 2020 reforms

The NCERT has introduced restructured school textbooks under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, bringing major changes to history content.

One of the most notable revisions is in the Class 8 textbook “Exploring Society: India and Beyond,” where the section describing the decline of the Mughal empire after Aurangzeb’s death has been removed.

The earlier version detailed the rise of regional kingdoms and successor states before the advent of British rule, but the revised edition now moves directly to colonial dominance.

Class 7 textbooks no longer carry the two-page tabular reference of Mughal emperors and their policies, while the Class 12 volume has dropped the chapter “Kings and Chronicles, The Mughal Courts,” which previously explored administration, court life, and Persian chronicling traditions.

References to Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the Anglo-Mysore Wars have also been deleted from Class 8 content.

According to NCERT, the changes are part of a rationalization process designed to reduce curriculum overload and avoid repetition.

Officials argue that Mughal history is still present in other grades and chapters, insisting the content has been streamlined rather than erased.

The new edition characterizes Babur as “ruthless” in conquest, highlights Akbar’s blend of accommodation and coercion, and notes Aurangzeb’s “religious intolerance.”

A footnote titled “No-Blame” urges students to view historical figures in context rather than through moral judgment.

The revisions reflect the NEP’s emphasis on thematic study over chronological detail, encouraging students to examine cause-and-effect relationships and the interplay between politics and culture.

However, critics say the deletions risk erasing transitional periods that shaped India’s composite history, pointing out that the jump from Mughal rule to British control leaves out crucial decades.

Concerns have also been raised in Parliament over the sidelining of regional histories, though the Union government has stated that states can supplement such content locally.

Supporters of the exercise see it as aligning school curricula with broader reforms, while historians and educators warn of selective omission.

For now, the Class 8 history book reflects the policy’s direction: shorter, thematic content designed to ease learning, even as the debate on what gets taught continues.