'Caste oppression ignored': NCERT textbooks reflect ideological bias, says historian

By A Representative 

The Indian History Forum organized a webinar titled “Rewriting the Past: Distortions and Ideological Interventions in NCERT History Textbooks” on 22 December 2025. The session featured historian Dr Ruchika Sharma, who critically examined recent changes in NCERT history textbooks and their implications for historical understanding and social cohesion among millions of students across the country.  

In her address, Dr Sharma argued that the NCERT syllabus for students aged 12 to 14 reflects a clear ideological bias, particularly in its treatment of medieval Indian history. She noted that Muslim rulers, especially the Sultans and the Mughals, are disproportionately associated with terms such as plunder, loot, and destruction, while comparable actions by non-Muslim rulers receive little attention. Referring to semantic analyses of textbooks from Classes 6 to 8, she said this framing appears to reflect a deliberate narrative choice.  

Dr Sharma also discussed changes in senior secondary textbooks, including the replacement of the term caste with social realities in Classes 11 and 12. She argued that this shift is ahistorical and downplays the structural nature of caste oppression. She further raised concerns about the composition of NCERT committees, pointing to the presence of members with ideological affiliations that could influence curriculum decisions.  

Addressing temple destruction, Dr Sharma challenged the tendency to associate this phenomenon exclusively with medieval Muslim rulers. She cited examples from early medieval South India, particularly during the Bhakti period, where temples linked to Jainism and Buddhism were converted or destroyed as part of sectarian consolidation. She emphasized that religious identities in pre-modern India were fluid and that conflicts also existed among non-Muslim traditions. She added that temple destruction was often driven by political and economic motives rather than religion alone.  

Dr Sharma also highlighted the misrepresentation of political alliances across religious lines. She referred to Mughal Rajput collaborations and Malik Ambar’s use of Maratha forces to show that political pragmatism, rather than religion, shaped most conflicts. She questioned portrayals of Chhatrapati Shivaji as a devout Hindu, noting that Hinduism as a unified category is a colonial construct.  

She further expressed concern over the inaccurate presentation of genetic studies related to the Aryan migration debate in Class 12 textbooks, warning that such distortions risk encouraging communalized interpretations of history.  

Responding to questions on resisting state-sponsored distortions, Dr Sharma acknowledged institutional pressures faced by academics but stressed the need for collective scholarly action.  

The session concluded with closing remarks by Raaid Azzam, who thanked Dr Ruchika Sharma and the participants. The webinar was hosted by Raaid Azzam on behalf of the Indian History Forum.