No, History Books Don't Only Teach About the Mughal Dynasty in Schools

We found that the empires Marathas, Rajputs, Mauryas, Ashoka, etc. were also a part NCERT history books.

(Editor's Note: The story was first published on 1 September 2021 and is being republished from The Quint's archives in light of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar repeating a similar misleading claim in an interview with news agency ANI.)

A claim going viral on social media states that only the history of the Mughal Empire is taught in schools. The claim goes on to say that the history of empires like Maratha, Rajput, Ahom and Chola is not taught in schools.

The Quint's WebQoof team scoured through the history books of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) to check this claim. We found that the history books from class VI to XII, include lessons about several rulers of India, including the Mughals, Vijayanagara, Maratha, Samudragupta and Ashoka empires.

It is, however, not the first time such claims have been made. The Quint's WebQoof team has debunked several claim around this and also written about how such claims are being used to distort historical facts.

CLAIM

The claim was made on Twitter by content creators Abhi and Niyu (@abhiandniyu).

"Everyone knows Babar's legacy by heart. We were taught in schools. One can still recite all the Mughal kings. It is time we learn abt others [sic], " said their tweet.

The same tweet was copied by other Twitter users, archives of which can be found here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We checked digital version of the history books by the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) and found that the claims made in the viral message are false.

Class XII Book Talks About the Vijaynagar Empire

The class XII book prepared by the NCERT titled, "Themes in Indian History-II" talks about the Vijayanagara Empire that lasted from the 14th century to the 16th century in Chapter 3. The next chapter in the book talks about the Mughal Empire.

Marathas, Rajputs and Other Dynasties Find Mention in Class VII Book

The second chapter of NCERT's Class VII history book "Our Pasts II" titled "New kings and their kingdoms", mentions many dynasties including Chahman, Gurjar, Chandel and Parmar.

The book then goes on to explore the cultures of each dynasty in detail.

The Marathas and Rajputs find mention in the 10th chapter of the book Class VII book called "Our Past-II". In this chapter, those dynasties that helped in shrinking the Mughal Empire or created problems for them find a mention.

Emperor Ashoka and the Empire of Samudragupta Mentioned in Class VI Books

The history book of NCERT class VI called "Our Pasts-I" talks about kingdoms ruled by other kings, and the systems they implemented.

In the fifth chapter of the book, it is said that 2500 years ago, Magadha became the most powerful district of India.

The seventh chapter of this book talks about Emperor Ashoka and his empire (Maurya) and the 10th chapter of this book mentioned the empire of Samudragupta in detail.

It is clear that the claim being made on social media that only the history of Mughals is taught in the school is false.

The Quint had earlier debunked a similar claim and the fact-check can be read here.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)