Textbook changes made by NCERT part of ‘symbolic genocide of Muslims’, says historian Tanika Sarkar
Subhoranjan Dasgupta | 19 June 2023 | The Telegraph
The NCERT, a government body that prepares school textbooks, has made controversial changes to the Class X and XII syllabuses, deleting topics from the Mughals to the theory of evolution. Historian Tanika Sarkar, former JNU professor of history whose book Hindu Nationalism in India is regarded as a classic, explains the reasons for this new writing of history in this dialogue with Subhoranjan Dasgupta, professor of human science.
Q: Massive deletion of history has now been added to the gross distortion of history. Not only despotic Aurangzeb but also majestic Akbar has been wiped out from the textbooks for senior school students. What is the motive behind this?
Sarkar: A symbolic genocide of Indian Muslims has long been happening. Muslim place names are being changed everywhere, along, of course, with actual killings of Muslims as well as violent hate speeches targeting the community. And all this under the maximum immunity.