Removal of Mughal History from Textbooks is “Historical Negationism”

Removal of Mughal History from Textbooks is “Historical Negationism”

P J James

It is a generally accepted historical fact that during the Mughal period ranging from Babur to Aurangzeb, India’s share of world “GDP” was around 25% which dropped to around 2% during the 1950s on account of colonial plunder. During this period, India had been the great workshop of cotton manufacture for the world, and it was the British-imposed deindustrialization that destroyed the once celebrated cotton fabrics among other things. By the beginning of the 17th century when Mughal Empire had expanded to include almost 90% of South Asia, it had a uniform customs and tax administration, and Indian Subcontinent had become the largest and richest economy in the world.

The Mughal rule lasting for two centuries was a prolonged period of political stability. The philosophical, cultural and linguistic advancement under the Mughal rule and the intermingling among people of different faiths and cultures especially among Hindus and Muslims were unparalleled. And often their religious practices were also intermingled.

In this context the NCERT decision to drop the Chapter on Mughals from Class 12 textbooks is solely ‘saffron’ in orientation. It should also be viewed in the broader context of the emergence of “historical negationism” and “falsification” of history according to which history is revisited to negate the validity of factual and documentary records so as to reframe explanations and interpretations for deceiving people. This “new history writing” as propaganda tool is widely used by European neo-fascists today.

Therefore, the removal of the Chapter on Mughal rule, a “glorious” period in Indian history from Class 12 textbooks is perfectly in consonance with the ideological-political requirements of RSS neofascism today, and it is in tune with the saffronisation agenda implicit in NEP-2020.

James PJ