‘NCERT Seems To Be Taking History Lessons From Bollywood’

A battery of titular kings and Royal scions criticise distortion of Indian history as represented in NCERT Class VIII History Textbook: Their views:

At a time when non-Marathis are being attacked in Mumbai over Marathi language, the NCERT’s standard VIII book on social science has kicked up a storm, further irking the north Indian dignity, in particular the Rajput legacy.

The map showing as ‘Maratha Empire’ in the book has included all the erstwhile kingdoms of Rajasthan and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, drawing sharp criticism from the titular kings of various princely states.

The royal families of Bundi (Kota), Jaisalmer, Alwar and Mewar have voiced against the ‘distortion’ of history by NCERT and have urged the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to make immediate corrections in the book.

Brig (Retd) Bhupesh Singh, from the royal family of Bundi, was the first one to slam the NCERT over the issue. “I despise the history book of NCERT. Through this book, an attempt has been made by the NCERT to show other Royal families (apart from erstwhile Maharashtra rulers) in a poor light. All the empires of Rajputana have been shown as part of an imaginary Maratha Empire. This is wrong in both ways, historically and legally.

Brig Singh told Lokmarg: “Looks like the NCERT, which gets crores of taxpayers money from the government, gets its history lessons from Bollywood cinema. Such a distortion of history is absolutely unacceptable. The NCERT should immediately remove such content from the book.”

Brig Singh also said that the book is predominately biased in favour of Maharashtra as it has given very less space for Kshatriya Kingdoms of north India who did most of the fighting against invaders for centuries.

“An analysis of the book shows that merely two pages are given for the 1200 years of history of Rajputs and 22 pages are given for 140-150 years of history of Maharashtra rulers like Maratha and Peshwa. The NCERT turns out to be an incapable institution and it should be disbanded,” said Singh.

Jaisalmer’s titular king (Maharawal) Chaitanya Raj Singh Bhati also launched a broadside against the NCERT and the government over distortion of history. Singh cited historical facts about Marathas never been able to enter the territories of Jaisalmer and criticised the government for showing an independent kingdom under Maratha rule.

“A map in the Class VIII NCERT Social Science textbook (Unit 3, Page 71) incorrectly shows Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha Empire at that time. This is historically inaccurate and seriously objectionable.

“Such unverified information not only questions the credibility of institutions like NCERT but also hurts our glorious history and people’s sentiments. This issue is not just a textbook error but seems like an attempt to tarnish our ancestors’ sacrifices, sovereignty, and bravery,” Mr Bhati said in a statement issued on social media.

“There is no mention of Maratha dominance, invasion, taxation, or authority in authentic historical sources about Jaisalmer State. In fact, our state books clearly state that Marathas never had any influence in Jaisalmer State,” he wrote.

“Honorable Education Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp Sir, on behalf of the entire Jaisalmer family, I would like to draw your attention to this pressing issue and request that NCERT’s erroneous, malicious, and agenda-driven presentation be corrected immediately. This is not just about factual correction but is linked to our historical dignity, self-respect, and the integrity of the national curriculum. We expect swift and concrete action on this matter. @ncert (Sic),” he said, demanding immediate removal of the map from the book.

Later on August 5, the royal families of Mewar, Alwar and Untgiri (Karauli) also took to social media to slam NCERT over the wrong depiction of many Rajput states under the ‘Maratha Empire’.

“By portraying it as first under the British and now under the Marathas, history has been presented incorrectly. Such mistakes by NCERT academicians raise serious questions. There is deep doubt about whether these scholars are capable of presenting India’s factual history in its true form,” said Vishvraj Singh Mewar, who is also a BJP MP.