Tamil Nadu MLA and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi chief Prof Jawahirullah accused the Union government of manipulating educational resources to propagate a communal and exclusionary version of India’s past.
CHENNAI – The Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) has strongly condemned the “subversion” of the NCERT history curriculum to suit the ideological agenda of the RSS and BJP.
In a scathing statement issued on Friday, Prof Jawahirullah, Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and MMK chief, accused the Union government of manipulating educational resources to propagate a communal and exclusionary version of India’s past.
“The history of a nation constitutes its soul. Tampering with history is akin to tampering with the fundamental ideals and values of India,” said the MMK leader, asserting that India’s pluralistic heritage is being undermined by Hindutva forces bent on rewriting history through a sectarian lens.
Jawahirullah took particular aim at the recently introduced Class VIII Social Science textbook ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’, calling it a “political propaganda tool” rather than an academic document. According to him, the textbook’s portrayal of Muslim rulers is deeply problematic and designed to vilify the Islamic contribution to Indian history.
“The sole objective of the textbook seems to be portraying Muslim rulers as unethical villains who brought disruption to Indian society. Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb have been subjected to imaginary character assassination, turning history into a fable,” he charged.
He particularly defended Emperor Akbar, calling him “perhaps the most famed Mughal ruler for encouraging inter-religious engagement and tolerance.” He also pointed out that Emperor Aurangzeb, often maligned by right-wing narratives, had, in fact, continued policies of inclusion and had even patronised several Hindu temples — citing grants given to the Someshwar Mahadev temple in Arail, Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, and Balaji temple in Chitrakoot, among others.
“This deliberate omission of historical nuance is nothing but a venomous attempt to communalise young minds,” Jawahirullah said, adding that such moves threaten both academic integrity and the fragile social fabric of the country.
He also criticised the erasure of key anti-colonial figures like Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan from the textbook. “Their resistance against the British has been treacherously omitted to suit the political ideology of the right wing,” he said, calling this an “unforgivable distortion.”
The MMK president expressed alarm at how a once-respected academic institution like the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has become a “political tool in the hands of the Hindutva forces.”
“This textbook will not only endanger the academic integrity of NCERT but also politically facilitate the Hindutva forces to harm social integration,” he warned.
Calling history a discipline that must be handled by trained historians with an objective and evidence-based approach, Prof Jawahirullah accused the NCERT of showing “blatant arrogance” in publishing politically motivated content.
He also took aim at what he described as the worrying silence of the civil society and academia over the issue. “This is the result of the silence of concerned civilian voices,” he said, urging citizens to act before it’s too late.
“I reiterate that it is a national duty of every citizen to rise up and boldly demand the withdrawal of the recently introduced Class VIII Social Science textbook to save our nation and safeguard communal harmony and social inclusiveness,” he said.
Prof Jawahirullah concluded by calling for a broader “detoxification” of state institutions from communal influence, warning that continued silence will embolden further misuse of power. “Indians need to be vociferous against such blatant misuse of state authority,” he said.
The statement comes amid growing criticism from educators, historians, and opposition leaders over recent revisions in NCERT textbooks, which they claim erase or distort key aspects of India’s diverse and plural history.
