NCERT Textbook Controversy: Why NCERT’s Class 8 Syllabus Excludes Tipu Sultan & Anglo-Mysore Wars in New Textbook

NCERT Class 8 history textbook without Tipu Sultan

Historians, educators and students have all criticized the recently published NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, for failing to cover Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali and the four Anglo-Mysore Wars in its part on colonial resistance. 

Vasco da Gama’s arrival in the late 15th century and the 1857 Rebellion are covered in the chapter on the “colonial era.” Although it discusses the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the “drain of India’s wealth,” it only discusses resistance efforts like the Kol and Santhal uprisings and the Sannyasi- Fakir Rebellion. Even though the Mysore campaigns played an important part in the front-line resistance efforts led by Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali, they are not mentioned. 

Omission of Tipu Sultan and Anglo-Mysore War

The Anglo-Mysore Wars were already covered in great length in the Class 8 edition. The famed “Tiger of Mysore,” Tipu Sultan, was mentioned, along with his family’s four conflicts against the British. In addition, that edition emphasized how his iron-cased rockets would eventually serve as the model for Congreve rockets, which were employed by the British and other European troops.

The head of the Exploring Society series’ NCERT committee, Michel Danino, addressed that the textbook’s Part 2, which is anticipated later this year, will not go over previously discussed material again. He added that the goal was to avoid a repetitive list of conflicts and dates, saying, “Unfortunately, it is not possible to cover all events of the colonial period.” Rather, the curriculum emphasizes major ideas during the middle school years, with more in-depth discussion reserved for Classes 9-12.

Critics claim that a crucial period of pre-colonial resistance is lost when the Anglo-Mysore clashes are excluded. Such exclusions, according to historian S. Irfan Habib, might be the result of political bias meant to minimize Muslim princely dissent. Likewise, Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand claims that the omissions help to “present a skewed past.” 

A “Note on Some Darker Periods in History,” a new framing aspect in the updated NCERT textbook, encourages learners to understand historical brutality such as colonial exploitation and intolerance during the Mughal era – objectively and without placing the blame on modern groups. In contrast to earlier editions, this strategy, which was implemented under NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023, aims to promote critical thinking rather than ideological polarization.

Teachers predict Tipu Sultan’s story will continue to be significant in senior classrooms even though the narrative simplifies early colonial resistance. Even in lower classes, there is ongoing discussion about whether the school’s foundational portrayal of historical resistance should provide an expanded image.

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