Maharashtra’s tryst with history

Mumbai: The new class 7 history book, published by the Maharashtra government, has come under fire for allegedly reducing the role of Mughals and other empires in Indian history.

The book titled ‘History and Civics’, which is supposed to be about the history of medieval India, makes the Maratha warrior king Shivaji and his Maratha empire the focal point of this period. A map of the Indian subcontinent on the cover of the book suggests that the empire extended from Attock, in present-day Punjab province of Pakistan, and Delhi in North to Jinji and Tanjavur in Southern India.

A note to the teachers at the beginning of the book reads, “It is important to understand how Maharashtra was in (sic) the forefront in stopping the British. The British had to compete with the Marathas and they had to conquer India by battling with the Marathas.”

Except for a few chapters, the entire book is dedicated to the rise and fall of the Maratha empire. It includes chapters such as ‘Marathas - The Protectors of the Nation’, which details the Marathas’ struggle against Ahmedshah Abdali, the British, the Jats, the Rohillas and the Rajputs, and ‘An Ideal Ruler’, which compares Shivaji with his contemporary rulers.

On the other hand, as many as four chapters on Mughal empire and four chapters on other empires such as the Vijayanagara and Bahamani empires, the Delhi Sultanate, the Palas, Cholas, Rajputs and Yadavs have been condensed into a single chapter titled ‘India Before the Times of Shivaji Maharaj’.

According to the authors of the book, the new book seeks to teach a ‘Maharashtra-centric’ history of the country. “Even though our State is part of the Republic of India, if we study history from the perspective of Maharashtra, we will understand the position, role and contribution of Maharashtra in the History of India, and the students will develop a more mature national feeling,” reads the note to teachers.

Bapusaheb Shinde, who was a member of the subject committees of the new as well as the old textbook, denies that there has been any attempt to omit any part of history. “We didn’t cut anything. All the kings find mention in the book. But we can’t provide all the historical details due to limited pages of the book,” he said.

However, many history teachers are unhappy with the new book. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a teacher from Nanded said, “There’s nothing wrong with teaching about Marathas, but one should have a sense of proportion. The hundreds of years of Mughal rule cannot be relegated to a few paragraphs. The students will never get to learn about them during their schooling,” he said.

The curriculum is being seen as a counter to the ‘Delhi-centric’ narrative of the history being propagated by books published by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and other states boards.

“There’s a sense that all our history books, including NCERT books, are north-centric. The academicians of Maharashtra appear to be doing exactly the opposite,” said a Pune-based historian who was involved with Maharashtra State Council for Educational Research and Training (MSCERT), which has been preparing the curriculum for school textbooks for 27 years.

These sentiments were echoed by Sadanand More, the chairman of History subject committee of Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production & Curriculum Research, also based in Pune. “The earlier book didn’t have a proper place for Maharashtra. The NCERT history book, too, has mere one and half pages for Marathas. Shouldn’t students get to read about Marathas?,” he said.

Some historians also suggest that it’s an attempt by the right-wing National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by BJP ruling the state to appropriate Shivaji for political gains. Historians point out that at various times, Shivaji has been hailed as a Hindutva icon, promoter of Brahmins and protector of backward categories.

“History is the first casualty of any appropriation of historical figures caused by a change in power,” said Arvind Ganacharya, former professor at the University of Mumbai’ s History department. He adds that while it’s necessary that the children should learn the history of the region, in Maharashtra, the textbooks neglect much of the state’s history at the expense of Shivaji.

The state board’s class 4 history book is also a glorified version of Maratha history. Under the instructions of the state, the book hasn’t been revised - except for new colourful pictures and a few changes in sentences - for more than 35 years.

The historians also lament the growing interference of the government in the curriculum-making process. “Earlier, there was little interference from the government, except for controversial issues. Now, as soon as a new government comes, the committees are changed. Activists are appointed at the place of scholars,” said the Pune-based historian.