NCERT Social Science Textbook: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Wednesday issued a clarification on the newly introduced Class 8 Social Science textbook "Exploring Society, India and Beyond", stating that all facts presented in the book are based on credible academic sources and aimed at promoting a critical, multidisciplinary understanding of India's past.
NCERT's new Class 8 Social Science textbook highlights instances of brutality and religious intolerance during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal rule. It describes Babur as a ruthless conqueror, Akbar's reign as mixed, and Aurangzeb as destructive. A contextual note urges students to study such violent histories objectively, without blaming present generations for past misdeeds.
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"All the facts presented in this textbook are based on well-known primary and secondary academic sources," the NCERT said in its official statement. "To avoid generation of any prejudice and misunderstanding, a note on history's darker period has been added on page 20 for the benefit of the learners."
The Council added that this note is central to interpreting the content correctly. "The note sums up the essence of the content presented in the textbook; the entire textbook should be seen and appreciated from this perspective."
Clarifying the textbook's broader intent, NCERT said that Class 8 being the last year of the middle stage, the students are expected to acquire a broad multidisciplinary perspective in understanding our past between the 13th and mid-19th centuries, and how historical events influenced the evolution of modern India.
Highlighting its pedagogical approach, NCERT explained that it deliberately avoided overwhelming students with excessive information and instead focused on fostering a critical understanding. "Our 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, the various facts have been presented in a comprehensible manner to promote holistic learning in this textbook."
