New NCERT Textbook Omits Reference to Raziyya Sultan, Nur Jehan
New Delhi: The new class 8 social science textbook of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) introduced for the present academic year (2025-26) has omitted references to historical figures such as Raziyya Sultan and Nur Jehan.
The older textbook had a section dedicated to Raziyya Sultan, who once ruled the Delhi Sultanate and also mentioned Noor Jehan, who was from the Mughal era, reported The Hindu.
Earlier students were taught about the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals in Class 7 but the new Class 7 textbooks end before the 12th century timeline. As a result, this content has now been included in Part one of the new Class 8 textbook.
In the older textbook, while there was a section dedicated to Raziyya, who became the ruler (Sultan) in 1236 and continued her reign till 1240, it has been omitted from the new version. The previous textbook had said that Raziyya, who became the ruler (Sultan) in 1236 and continued her reign till 1240, was more “able” and “qualified” than all her brothers.
Similarly, the new textbook omits any mention of Emperor Jahangir’s wife Noor Jehan, who, the earlier book noted had “influence in Jahangir’s court”.
The new textbook gas also omitted the mention of Tipu Sultan, who was referred to as The “Tiger of Mysore” in the old Class 8 history textbook Our Pasts - III [Chapter two - From Trade to Territory (The Company Establishes Power)].
Tipu’s predecessor Haidar Ali has also been removed from the new textbook. Texts on the four Anglo-Mysore wars fought in 18th century between Tipu Sultan and the British have also been removed.
The new textbook has also expanded the section on the Maratha empire. A section titled “Mighty Maratha Women”, mentions Tarabai as a “fearless warrior queen”, who resisted Emperor Aurangzeb’s expansion efforts.
She has been termed “the architect of the northward Maratha expansion”. Ahilyabai Holkar has also been mentioned as being “instrumental in the Maratha expansion in North India”.
Earlier, the new Class 8 textbook of the NCERT had described the reigns of various Mughal emperors as brutal and intolerant with questionable notes at the end.
While the NCERT had earlier made news because of the deletion of the Mughal era from history books, this one marks a new tactic on the part of the controversial textbook council.
The old Class 7 NCERT book which had introduced students earlier to this period of history did not have any mention of “attacks on temples” and the “brutality” of some Mughal and Sultanate rulers. As The Wire reported earlier this year, the new social science textbook for Class 7 replaces three separate books for History, Geography, and Social and Political Life. The Part 1 of the book does not have any reference to the rise of the Delhi sultanate and the Mughal empire.
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