NCERT flags 'brutality' of Mughals, but conditions apply. About the major changes made to class 8 social science textbook

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) recently announced a slew of changes to its new Class 8 Social Science textbook. The textbook introduces students to the Delhi Sultanate and the subsequent period of the Mughals, pointing to "many instances of religious intolerance" during the time. 

The Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara Empire, Mughals, and Sikhs are the main subjects of the new book 'Reshaping India's Political Map', which examines Indian history from the 13th to the 17th century.  It draws attention to issues not covered in the previous NCERT book, such as political unrest, military operations, and the destruction of educational facilities and temples.

One of the chapters in the textbook cautions readers that "no one should be held responsible today for events of the past". Despite the Delhi Sultanate period being covered in Class 7 previously, the NCERT said the period of Indian history will cover the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals and the Marathas only in Class 8 in the new syllabus, The Indian Express reported. 

List of changes in the new Class 8 SST book:

1. Alauddin Khilji's trusted lieutenant Malik Kafur "attacked a number of Hindu centres such as Srirangam, Madurai, Chidambaram, and possibly Rameswaram". 
2. The period during which the Delhi Sultanate was at the helm of affairs saw "numerous attacks on sacred or revered images in Buddhist, Jain and Hindu temples; such destruction was motivated not just by plunder but also by iconoclasm". 
3. Referring to the jiziya tax imposed by some sultans on non-Muslim subjects to grant them protection and exemption from military service, the book mentions the tax as a source of public humiliation and as a financial as well as social incentive for subjects to convert to Islam. In the class 7 book, jiziya was referred to as a tax paid by non-Muslims initially along with land tax, but later as a separate one. 
4. On the first Mughal emperor, Babur, the book says that he was cultured and intellectually curious, citing the emperor's autobiography. “But he was also a brutal and ruthless conqueror, slaughtering entire populations of cities, enslaving women and children, and taking pride in erecting ‘towers of skulls’ made from the slaughtered people of plundered cities," the book, accessed by The Indian Express, read. 
5. This is in stark contrast to Babur's depiction in the Class 7 book. The Class 7 book described Babur as someone who was forced to leave his ancestral throne, seized Kabul, and then Delhi and Agra. 
6. Talking of Akbar's reign, the book called it a "blend of brutality and tolerance". The book also mentioned that when Akbar attacked the Chittorgarh fort, and "ordered the massacre of some 30,000 civilians".
7. The textbook also quotes Akbar's victory message, which read: “We have succeeded in occupying a number of forts and towns belonging to the infidels and have established Islam there. With the help of our bloodthirsty sword, we have erased the signs of infidelity from their minds and have destroyed temples in those places and also all over Hindustan.” The book also notes that despite Akbar’s later tolerance for different faiths, “non-Muslims were kept in a minority in the higher echelons of the administration”.
8. It also notes that despite Akbar's later tolerance for different faiths, “non-Muslims were kept in a minority in the higher echelons of the administration”.
9. On Aurangzeb, the book mentions that his motives were primarily political and cite examples of his grants and assurances of protection to temples. Even though politics dictated his decisions, his farmans "make his personal religious motive clear too". 
10. As per the textbook, he ordered governors of several provinces to demolish schools and temples, besides destroying temples at Banaras, Mathura, Somnath, and Jain temples and Sikh gurudwaras. 
11. The chapter on Marathas refers to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a "master strategist and a true visionary" and the Marathas are depicted as those who have "contributed substantially to India's cultural developments". The previous book, on the other hand, merely mentioned that the Hindu king founded a strong Maratha state with an efficient administrative system.