The newly launched Class 8 Social Science textbook by the NCERT for the 2025-26 academic session presents a revised portrayal of Mughal rulers—particularly Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb—as figures of both intellectual depth and harsh cruelty. Featured in Chapter 2, *‘Reshaping India’s Political Map’* under the section *Theme B - Tapestry of the Past*, the textbook references Babur’s *Baburnama* to depict him as a culturally refined man with a passion for architecture, poetry, and nature. Yet, it also highlights his violent conquests, including mass killings, enslavement of civilians, and pride in erecting “towers of skulls” in defeated cities.

 

Akbar’s rule is similarly shown as a combination of severe brutality and progressive tolerance. The textbook recounts the massacre of 30,000 civilians during the siege of Chittor Fort and the subsequent enslavement of women and children. It also quotes Akbar’s declaration of imposing Islam through force and temple destruction, although it mentions his gradual shift towards a more peaceful governance in his later years.

 

Aurangzeb, the textbook notes, issued farmans ordering the destruction of temples—including those in Banaras, Mathura, Somnath—as well as Jain temples and Sikh gurdwaras. The persecution of religious minorities such as Sufis and Zoroastrians is also documented.

 

These detailed portrayals contrast with the earlier Class 7 NCERT textbook, *Our Pasts II*, which featured less emphasis on such episodes. Michel Danino, who heads NCERT’s Social Science Curriculum Group, said the goal was to present history with all its nuances—acknowledging both its bright and dark chapters. “We are not demonising anyone,” Danino said, adding that the intention is to reflect the complexities of historical figures, not whitewash them.

 

Previously, students were introduced to the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire in Class 7. However, with the recent curriculum overhaul, those topics now begin in the first volume of the new Class 8 textbook, *Exploring Society: India and Beyond*. This integrated textbook includes history, civics, geography, and economics and is intended for the first half of the academic year. Part Two will be released in October 2025 and is still in development.

 

The new Class 8 book also includes accounts of resistance to Mughal rule—highlighting acts of defiance by Jat peasants, tribal groups such as the Bhils, Gonds, Santhals, and Kochs, and key figures like Rani Durgavati, who led battles against Akbar’s forces. It also recounts Maharana Pratap’s resistance and escape from Mughal troops and the Ahom kingdom’s opposition to Aurangzeb’s army in the northeast.