Mughals, ‘Correction’ and the Politics of Personality-Centred History: Two Former NCERT Writers Speak
Vrinda Gopinath | 31 July 2025 | The Wire
NCERT’s text books for school children are wrought with controversies – especially how the body has gone about particular deletions in its revision of the syllabus, mainly of history and the social sciences. Accusations have flown thick and fast about the saffronisation of education and how the textbooks have been made to reflect the political views of the present Narendra Modi government. Many allege that they are designed to promote the Hindutva nationalist narrative of past glory and splendour.
The Wire spoke to two eminent historians who were involved in writing text books for the NCERT in the period of 2005-2010. Professor Neeladri Bhattacharya, alumni of Jawaharlal Nehru University, was chief advisor to NCERT between 2005 and 2008. He is a visiting professor at Ashoka University and has taught at JNU for 40 years. Professor Farhat Hasan, an alumnus of AMU and Cambridge University, is a professor of history in Delhi University and was asked to write on Mughal history for NCERT text books in 2008…