Resisting invaders to swords of goddesses: NCERT revises book on medieval history for Class 9

Why in the News

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released Part 2 of its new Class 9 social science textbook, which calls 1000 to 1700 AD a period of “Resistance and Resilience”. The book mentions “both conflict and cooperation” but focuses on resistance, not cooperation or a composite culture, which reopens the debate on how schools should teach medieval India.

What is the new Class 9 textbook?

1. What it is: “Understanding Society: India and Beyond” is NCERT’s new social science textbook for Class 9, part of the Secondary Stage of schooling. Part 1 came out in June, covering history, political science, geography and economics.
2. Stated aim: The foreword by the NCERT Director says the subject should build critical inquiry, intercultural understanding and confident participation in civic life.
3. Books replaced: The new books replace four older textbooks, including “Democratic Politics-1” and “India and the Contemporary World”, which taught the French and Russian Revolutions, Socialism in Europe and the Rise of Nazism.
4. The takeaway: The national textbook now tells medieval history as a story of defence against outsiders, so it shapes how Class 9 students understand the whole period.

How does the book retell 1000 to 1700 AD?

1. Central claim: The book says the subcontinent faced repeated invasions with religious discrimination and social distress. Resistance took both military and cultural forms, and society “preserved its traditions”.
2. Who resisted: Rajputs, the Ahom, Vijayanagara, the Marathas, Sikhs and Jats are shown resisting the Turks, the Mughals and European forces.
3. Mewar and the Ahom: One section covers Maharana Pratap’s resistance to Akbar. Another says the Ahom kingdom of Assam stayed independent for almost six centuries, with Lachit Borphukan defeating a Mughal fleet at Saraighat.
4. Beyond the north: The Vijayanagara section says resistance to foreign invasion “was not confined to northern India”.
5. Swarajya: The Maratha idea is explained as “an independent, self-governing territory free from external control”.

How does the book treat religion and culture?

1. Sikhs and Jats: The book cites the martyrdom of the Sikh Gurus and Mughal “discriminatory practices”. It links Jat resistance to economic hardship and Aurangzeb’s religious policies.
2. Temples: The book records temples destroyed and mosques built on their sites. Eg. Todarmal and Man Singh rebuilt Kashi Vishwanath, Aurangzeb destroyed it, and Ahilyabai Holkar reconstructed it.
3. Bhakti: The book credits Bhakti, personal devotion to God, with sustaining worship when temple building was restricted. Eg. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu led public sankirtan (group devotional singing) in Bengal against a Qazi’s (Islamic judge’s) curbs.
4. Sufism: Sufism is described as a comparatively liberal strand of Islam that also helped Islam spread.
5. Swords of goddesses: A box says kings have invoked Kali, Durga and Bhavani as protectors since the seventh century. Eg. Shivaji received his sword from Tulja Bhavani, and Annamaraja of Bastar his from Danteshvari.

How does this depart from earlier history teaching?

1. Old consensus: For over 50 years, Indian historiography stressed cooperation and composite culture, meaning the shared art, language and belief that grew from mixing traditions.
2. Thin Sultanate coverage: The Delhi Sultanate gets one page, mostly on local kings who resisted it. The Mughal period is longer but also centres on resistance.
3. Kachwaha alliance: The Kachwahas of Amber and their “cooperative relationships” with the Mughals get only a brief mention.

Challenges

1. Partial picture: Stressing only resistance hides the alliances and shared institutions that also shaped the period. Eg. Rajputs as Mughal mansabdars (ranked nobles).
2. Belief read as history: Goddess-given swords are traditions, and students may not separate legend from evidence.
3. Lost world history: Dropping the French and Russian Revolutions weakens understanding of democracy and ideology.
4. Frequent revision: Repeated rewrites unsettle teachers and students. Eg. Mughal court chapter dropped from Class 12 in 2023.

Way Forward

1. Source-based chapters: NCERT should add primary sources and more than one interpretation for each theme.
2. Expert review: Drafts should go to historians and public consultation before release.
3. Clear labels: Textbooks should mark legend, tradition and evidence separately.
4. Teacher training: State education departments should train teachers on the new chapters.

Conclusion

The new book moves school history away from synthesis towards a story of resistance, and that choice is now the version most students will learn. What to watch is whether later volumes restore cooperation and world history, and how teachers handle belief and evidence in class.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2026, GS2, 15 marks] Should education be treated primarily as a welfare obligation of the state or as a strategic investment for building a globally competitive, knowledge-driven nation? Critically evaluate.”