&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'History can't be sanitised': NCERT on book claiming Akbar was brutal, killed 30000 in Chittorgarh")
NCERT on Wednesday explainedwhy it modifiedthe content related to the Mughal dynasty in its social science textbook for Class 8, saying the stated facts were based on what it described as “well-known primary and secondary academic sources”. The book noted that Mughal emperor Akbar was a blend of brutality and tolerance, and that he ordered the killing of 30000 people in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh after a protracted siege.
"This textbook attempts to provide an idea about the geography, history (medieval & modern), economic life, and governance of the country, from a multi-disciplinary perspective in an integrated way," the NCERT statement reads.
The body also said that a cautionary note had been inserted in the book that said no one should be held responsible for the events of the past. It further said that Indian history can't be sanitised and presented as a happy development throughout. "There were bright periods but also dark periods where people suffered," it added.
The social science book for Class 8 described Aurangzeb as the one who banned "un-Islamic" activities in India and was responsible for the persecution of the adherents of other faiths.
It noted that during the siege of Chittorgarh in 1568, Akbar ordered the massacre of some 30,000 civilians and the enslavement of surviving women and children. He, the book says, commented after the slaughter: “We have succeeded in occupying several forts and towns belonging to the infidels and have established Islam there... With the help of our bloodthirsty sword, we have erased the signs of infidelity from their minds and have destroyed temples in those places, and also all over Hindustan”.
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It said Akbar abolished the jizya system, which imposed taxes on those who followed faiths other than Islam. Under Aurangzeb, the book said, the Mughal empire grew leaps and bounds but was marred by religious orthodoxy and policies.
“He gradually banned practices he regarded as un-Islamic, such as music and dance in his court, and reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims as well as a pilgrimage tax on Hindus travelling to their sacred places (both of which had been abolished by Akbar),” it said.