Amid textbook row, NCERT says facts in Class VIII book from 'primary sources'

Amid the widespread discussion over the portrayal of Mughals and Delhi Sultanate in Class VIII social science textbook ‘Exploring Society, India and Beyond’, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has said the facts in the book are drawn from “well-known primary and secondary academic sources” and that the aim is to help students critically understand India's past.

“This textbook attempts to provide an idea about the geography, history (medieval & modern), economic life and governance of the country, from a multi-disciplinary perspective in an integrated way. Class VIII being the last year of the middle stage, the students are expected to acquire a broad multidisciplinary perspective in understanding of our past between 13th to Mid-19th century and how the various events of that period have helped to shape and influenced the evolution of India of today,” NCERT said in a statement.

The NCERT said that the aim has been to consistently avoid attempting to load the child with too much information and to develop a critical understanding of the subject. “Hence, various facts have been presented in a comprehensible manner to promote holistic learning in this textbook. All the facts presented in this textbook are based on well-known primary and secondary academic sources,” it said.

However, in order to avoid generation of any prejudice and misunderstanding, NCERT said that a “note on history’s darker period” on page 20 has been added for the benefit of the learners.

NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said the book is based on historical sources and texts like Baburnama, Banaras Gazetteer, Maasir-e-Alamgiri written by Saqi Muttid Khan and translated by Sir Jadunath Sarkar, the book ‘The History and Culture of the Indian People’ written by RC Majumdar, etc.  “The facts mentioned in the textbook are supported by authentic historical sources. These facts clarify the complexity of the social, religious and political aspects of Indian history. The rulers of the Mughal Empire, especially Aurangzeb, have been described in detail in ‘Muntakhab-al-Lubab’, written by his contemporary historian Khafi Khan,” he said.

The issue has left historians divided on the issue.

Historian Hindol Sengupta said that the NCERT textbooks are balancing out perspectives quite comprehensively. “Some very strange people are comparing medieval Islamic iconoclasm with the Marathas — this is so imbecilic that it can only run on some parts of Indian news TV. We must find a balance and peaceful conversation about such things. The sensible thing would be to see that while Aurangzeb was iconoclastic, there was also a Dara Shikoh who was genuinely a conciliatory, someone who worked to find harmony,” he said.

Another historian Rana Safvi said that history is the study of past events, people and societies, using evidence like records, artifacts and oral traditions.

“Historians aim to piece together narratives grounded in primary and secondary sources, though interpretations vary due to perspective, bias, or incomplete evidence. However, distorting it through deliberate manipulation, selective omission, or misrepresentation, can have significant consequences. Altered narratives can skew how societies perceive their identity, values, or conflicts, fostering division or false pride and undermines faith in institutions, education, or media. Accurate history helps societies learn from mistakes; distortion risks repeating them, as root causes are ignored,” she said.