Controversy has once again arisen over the new NCERT books taught in schools across the country. This time the matter is related to history and objection has been raised on a map printed in the 8th grade social science book. In this book, Jaisalmer has been described as part of the Maratha Empire, about which King Chaitanya Raj Singh of the princely state of Jaisalmer has expressed strong displeasure.

He has described this “mistake” as not just a historical confusion, but the legacy of our ancestors and injustice with glorious history. While writing posts on social media, he has demanded the Ministry of Education and NCERT to fix this mistake immediately.

What is the whole matter?

Chaitanya Raj Singh posted a social media platform that but has shared a map of the 8th grade NCERT social science book. This map depicts the expansion of the Maratha Empire, in which Jaisalmer is also described as part of the empire. He has raised serious objections about this.

He has written that Jaisalmer has been described as under the Maratha Empire in the map on page number 71. This is not only historically misleading and wrong, but also extremely objectionable. Such factless information is going to hurt our history and public sentiments.

Was Jaisalmer part of the Maratha Empire?

Chaitanya Raj Singh claims that the princely state of Jaisalmer has never been a part of the Maratha Empire. He said that we have historical documents, records and folklore that confirm that the Marathas never intervened in Jaisalmer.

According to historians, Jaisalmer has been an independent Rajput princely state and protected its boundaries in many wars. The influence of the Maratha Empire was mainly seen in Maharashtra, Central India and South India, while Jaisalmer was located in western Rajasthan and the administration there was separately.

Direct appeal to Education Minister

Chaitanya Raj Singh has advised not to take this issue lightly. He has demanded from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan that this historical mistake present in NCERT books should be corrected immediately. He wrote that it is not just a matter of a map, it is a matter of our historical truth, self -esteem and giving correct information to the new generation. When students of the country read from these books, then such wrong information can create a wrong image in their mind.

Who is Chaitanya Raj Singh?

Chaitanya Raj Singh is the 44th Maharawal of the princely state of Jaisalmer. They come from a royal heritage but their inclination is also towards modern education and politics. He has studied at Sanskrit School in New Delhi and then earned a degree in political science from the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas), University of London.

Questions arose again on NCERT

This is not the first time that questions have arisen about factual mistakes in NCERT books. In the past too, there has been a dispute over the topics related to history in books. Experts believe that when crores of students get education from these books, then their credibility becomes the most important.

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NCERT has completely changed the way of explaining the colonial history of India in the new book of Social Sciences of class 8. Now this book clearly states that European colonial forces, especially the British, looted India’s wealth and economically weakened the country.

The new book also mentions that Britain’s industrial revolution was possible due to the money looted from India. The idea was earlier presented by the famous American historian Wil Durant, which is now included in the textbook. Apart from this, statistics of famous Indian economist Usha Patnaik have also been given, according to which between 1765 and 1938, Britain looted assets of about $ 45 trillion from India, which is about 13 times the UK’s 2023 GDP.

Exploitation in the name of development

It has also been clarified in the book that the rail, telegraph and other infrastructure that the British made, they were funded by taxes of Indians. The cost of British wars was recovered from Indians. These constructions have been shown as a symbol of “development” till now, but in fact it caused huge damage to the local industries of India and also ruined the traditional education system.

Changes in administration and education

It is said in the new book that the court and administration system implemented by the British was completely foreigners to the Indians, due to which the common people were cut off from this system. English education was implemented by eliminating traditional schools and madrasas, which led to a social division among the common people studying in the upper class and local languages in the society.

Maratha Empire gets a proper place

This time a special chapter has been added to the Maratha Empire. In this, Chhatrapati Shivaji is presented as a visionary and powerful ruler who rebuilt temples, promoted Indian languages and formed a strong Navy. Also, Ahilyabai Holkar is also depicted as a major ruler, who got many famous temples repaired.

Christian conversion was also an objective

The textbook also states that European colonists also aimed at converting Indians into Christianity. Due to colonialism, India lost its freedom, resources looted, traditional lifestyle broken and an attempt to impose foreign culture.

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Ncert book changes: All references to the Mughals and the Delhi Sultanate have been removed from the textibook of Class Seven, while the Indian dynasties, references to Mahakumbh and ‘Make in India’ and ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ have been included in new chapters. The new textbook released this week has been designed for the new National Education Policy (NEP) and the National Curriculum Fractions (NCFSE) for school education 2023, which emphasizes the inclusion of Indian traditions, philosophy, knowledge systems and local references in school education.

Earlier, lessons related to Mughals were shortened

On contact, NCERT officials said that this is only the first part of the books and the second part is expected to come in the coming months. However, he did not comment on whether the removed parts would be retained in the second part of the book or not.

The NCERT had earlier shortened the texts associated with the Mughals and the Delhi Sultanate, including a detailed description of dynasties like Tughlaq, Khilji, Mamaluk and Lodi and a two-hit table on the achievements of Mughal emperors. The exercise was done in 2022-23 as a part of rationalization of the course in view of the Kovid-19 epidemic, however, all his references in the new textbook have now been removed.

These chapters included

Studies of Social Science Textbook ‘Society: India and next “have new chapters on ancient Indian dynasties like Magadha, Maurya, Sunga and Satavahana, which are focused on” Indian ethos “. Another new version in the book is a chapter called “how Bhoomi becomes holy”, which focuses on places and pilgrimage to be considered holy for religions like Islam, Christian, Jewish, Parsi, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh.

The chapter introduces concepts like ‘Holy Geography’, which describes places like 12 Jyotirlinga, Char Dham Yatra and Shakti Peeth. The lesson includes a quote of Jawaharlal Nehru, which has described India as the land of pilgrimage centers. The textbook claimed that the varna-caste system initially provided social stability, but later it became rigid, especially under British rule, which created inequalities.

Mahakumbh Mela mention in book

Earlier this year, the Mahakumbh Mela held in Prayagraj is also mentioned in the book and it is told how about 66 crore people participated in it. However, there is no mention of a stampede incident in which 30 pilgrims were killed and many were injured.

The new textbook includes reference to government initiatives like ‘Make in India’, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and ‘Atal Tunnel’. The book also has a chapter on the Constitution of India, which mentions that there was a time when people were not allowed to hoist the national flag in their homes.

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