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Deleting Muslim Rulers from School Curriculum

While implementing the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, apart from focusing on Indian Knowledge system and Indian traditions, the changes that pertain to history have deleted Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Rule from school text books

Thursday May 22, 2025 11:15 AM, Ram Puniyani

[Grok 3 AI generated image for representation]

The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is being implemented gradually. Apart from other things, it has focused on Indian Knowledge system and Indian traditions. The changes that pertain to history have deleted Delhi Sultanate and Mughal rule from the books.

A good seven centuries of history stands relegated into absentia. This is a pretty long period by any standards.

While NCERT had previously trimmed sections on the Mughals and Delhi Sultanate - including detailed account of dynasties like Tughlaqs, Khaljis, Mamluks, and Lodis and a two-page table on Mughal emperors' achievements as part of its syllabus rationalization during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022-23, the new textbook has now removed all references to them.

All references to Delhi Sultanate and Mughal rulers have been deleted from 7th standard text book. In addition to the other books wherever the references to Muslim rule is there, that now stands deleted.

What also stands deleted is the reference to Post-Mumbai (92-93 violence), post-Gujarat violence (2002), the references to Nathuram Godse being a trained pracharak of RSS, the ban on RSS in the aftermath of Gandhi murder among others.

While Kumbh Mela finds a place, the stampede that caused death of many and the Delhi station stampede have no place.

All this began with the Covid period when the pretext offered was reducing the burden on the students and followed by ‘rationalization’ which meant deletion of these portions which caused discomfort to the Hindu Nationalist ideology.

For demonization of Muslims and spreading hate against them, Mughals have been presented as the major villains of our history. Some earlier kings like Allauddin Khilji have also been on the hammer of Hindutva narrative. So far the demonization of Muslims was structured around temple destruction by Muslim kings, which has been contested by rational historians.

The spread of Islam by Muslims Kings using their sword was another pillar of this. This point is totally off the mark as conversions to Islam took place due to social interaction with Muslim Arab Traders to begin with. Later many low castes embraced Islam to escape the tyranny of the caste system.

The ideology of Hindutva has gone to the extent of presenting this period as a dark period when Holocaust against Hindus took place. No doubt the era of Kingdoms is full of war for political reasons. Kings always wanted to expand their regime and in the process many people were killed. To call it holocaust is totally off the mark.

Their (Hindutva) narrative actually takes off from the Communal Historiography introduced by the British to pursue the policy of ‘divide and rule’. In this; all the motives of Kings are related to religion and kings are presented as the symbol of the whole religious community.

The Hindu communal historiography took it further by claiming that Muslims and Christians were ‘foreigners’ who have tormented Hindus. The Muslim communal historiography presented the other side of the coin where Muslims are regarded as rulers and Hindus as subjugated subjects. They presented that Muslims are the logical rulers of this land.

The later trajectory of this logic did assist the British to divide our composite land into India and Pakistan. Savarkar articulated that there are two nations in this country, and Jinnah went on to demand a separate country for Muslims, Pakistan.

Pakistan fell into the trap of Muslim communalism right from the word go and as far its textbooks are concerned they presented the beginning of Pakistan with Mohammad bin Qasim in the 8th century.

Today their history books have totally deleted any reference to Hindu rulers. The hate which the Muslim communalism spread against the Hindus peaked with their school texts removing all the references to Hindu Kings and culture.

In a way, India during the last three decades has been walking on the footprints of Pakistan. The mirror image of Pakistan’s trajectory is being copied probably to the last comma. This point was highlighted by Pakistani poet Fahmida Riyaz. In the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition, she wrote:

“Arre Tum bhi Ham Jaise Nikale, Ab Tak Kahan Chhupe the bhai’ (Ohh! You have also turned out like us, where were you hiding so far).

Prior to Hindutva ideology coming to a total control of Indian education, the RSS shakhas were spreading the communal version of society through multiple mechanisms like its Shakha bauddhis, Ekal Vidyalays, Shishu Mandirs. In due course mainstream media and social media also came to its service.

As such culture is a continuously evolving process. During the period of History under the hammer of Hindutva; lot of social changes took place.

Apart from the architecture, the food habits, dress and literature, the synthesis in the field of religion, the noble traditions of Bhakti and Sufi tradition developed. It was during this period that Sikhism came and flourished.

Now this political ideology may have to change the track. With Muslim rulers out of the way how will they demonize the Muslims now? Newer techniques may be on the way to substitute Aurangzeb or Babar as now they will be defunct!

History is very central to the concept of Nationalism. Erich Fromm points out that ‘History is to Nationalism what poppy is to the opium addict’.

Since the BJP came to power as NDA in 1998, the major thing they did was what is called “saffronization of education”. Here history has been presented as the narrative of glorious and brave Hindu Kings versus evil and aggressive Muslim kings.

The charge has been that so far History has been written by Left Historians, who focused on Delhi rulers and who were pro Muslim. The point is that text books did present the details of particular dynasties depending on the historical length of their rule.

The history books in the decades of 1980s had a good deal of presentation of Hindu as well as Muslim kings. The narration was not revolving just around religion but the holistic view of communities was presented: trade, culture, literature among others.

Still it is true that ruler, ‘King centric history’ is not what we need to build our future. We need to focus on diverse sections of society, dalits, women, adivasis and artisans who do not find much place in such narratives.

[Thw writer, Ram Puniyani, is former professor of IIT Bombay. He has extensively written a number of books and delivered lectures on the Indian history.]

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