NCERT Textbook Revision: Bhagwat Says History Was Taught Through Western Lens, Congress Hits Back

Last Updated:July 23, 2025, 11:45 IST

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said: “History we know has been taught through western lens. India has no significance. Geographically, India is there, but it does not exist in thought.”

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat was addressing the '10th Anuvrat Vyakhyanmala'. (PTI File)

NCERT Textbook Revision: Bhagwat Says History Was Taught Through Western Lens, Congress Hits Back

Amid the row over NCERT textbook revision, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said that so far history has been taught through western lens.

“We are in this advanced era, where the history we know has been taught through western lens… In this, India has no significance. Geographically, India is there, but it does not exist in thought," he said, addressing the ’10th Anuvrat Vyakhyanmala’.

Responding to the statement, Rajya Sabha LoP and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “…They reject the book ‘Discovery of India’ written by Jawaharlal Nehru and reject the things said by our History professors in Universities. The history of RSS is different from the history of the country."

Congress’s Pramod Tiwari said: “Respected Mohan Bhagwat ji, stop worrying about the world – first worry about your BJP, your Prime Minister and your government. You are 75 years old, be careful – the way this government has insulted and disrespected the Vice President is unfortunate for the country."

NCERT textbook revision

The NCERT’s new Class 8 Social Science textbook points to “instances of religious intolerance" during the period. It describes Babur as a “brutal and ruthless conqueror, slaughtering entire populations of cities", Akbar’s reign as a “blend of brutality and tolerance", and Aurangzeb who destroyed temples and gurdwaras.

The NCERT says the rationale for including them has been explained in a “Note on Some Darker Periods in History" and one of the chapters in the book includes a cautionary note that “no one should be held responsible today for events of the past".

Part 1 of the Social Science book for Class 8 — ‘Exploring Society: Indian and Beyond’ — was released this week for use in the ongoing academic session. Of the new NCERT books, this is the first to introduce students to the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals.

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