NCERT Class 7 Textbooks Updated: Drops Mughals, Delhi Sultanate; Highlights Indian Dynasties, Maha Kumbh

NCERT, the organization that makes textbooks for schools in India has completely removed all chapters about the Mughals and Delhi Sultanate from the Class 7 history books. Instead, they have added new chapters that talk about ancient Indian kings and dynasties, pilgrimage places like the Maha Kumbh, and even important government initiatives.

This update is a part of the new National Education Policy (NEP) and National Curriculum Framework (NCF), which focus on teaching students more about India's traditions, values, and local knowledge rather than focusing only on past foreign rulers.

What New Topics Have Been Added?

In the new Social Science book called "Exploring Society: India and Beyond," NCERT has added lessons about India's ancient dynasties like, Magadha, Maurya Empire, Shunga Dynasty, Satavahana Dynasty. The main idea behind this is to show how these Indian empires contributed to the country's culture and heritage.

A completely new chapter called "How the Land Becomes Sacred" has also been included as per PTI report. This chapter talks about pilgrimage sites important to different religions Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism.
Some examples given in the book include 12 Jyotirlingas, Char Dham Yatra, Shakti Peethas, Holy rivers, mountains, and forests across India.

What Else Has Changed?

The new book also talks about the Maha Kumbh festival. It says that about 660 million people attended the event. The book also explains how the varna-jati system (ancient caste structure) initially helped society stay organized. But later on, especially during British rule, it became rigid and created inequalities. Another important story added to the textbook is about the Indian national flag. Earlier, people were not allowed to fly the national flag at their homes. But in 2004, a citizen went to court to fight for this right. The Supreme Court agreed and ruled that flying the Indian flag is a Fundamental Right under Freedom of Expression. Now, thanks to that ruling, every Indian can proudly hoist the tricolour at home. The new textbook also includes references to government initiatives such as Make in India, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and the Atal Tunnel.

Why Are People Talking About These Changes?

Many political parties and critics have raised concerns, saying that removing the Mughal and Delhi Sultanate chapters is an attempt at rewriting history to favor a particular political ideology.

NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani defended the changes. He said earlier that teaching children about riots and violence could make them negative. That's why, even in earlier updates, sensitive topics like the Gujarat riots of 2002 were removed from some textbooks.
As of now, the NCERT has only released Part 1 of the new Class 7 textbook.

Officials have said that Part 2 will come out later, but they haven't confirmed whether topics about the Mughals and Delhi Sultanate will be added back in future editions.