“The effects of education are not as sudden as a massacre but they are far more lasting.” – Mark Twain

Indian History curriculum has been the centre of many political debates across ages. In the British colonial era Lord Macaulay passed his famous dictum of creating a system of education which produces a class of people which are only, “Indian in colour but English in taste, morals, opinion and intellect.” Seems like even 73 years after Independence, the Marxist, Leftist historians of India are still making sure that Macaulay’s legacy lives on.

Being a UPSC aspirant when I picked up the NCERT text books, almost after a decade since I finished high school, I was surprised to find many changes in the content which did not match up either with the history I learned in my school days (ICSE Board) or the oral generational account passed down by our ancestors.

After doing some digging, I came across two brilliant books which talk at length about this revisionist and distorted version of Indian History most of us are taught in our school and college curriculum. The first one is “Brainwashed Republic” by Shri Neeraj Atri and second is titled “A History of India as It Happened: Not as it was Written” by Francois Gautier.

Based on these books, I learnt that in 2004 under UPA regime, a committee was formed to "detoxify" the texts of these history books. The revised textbooks were implemented in curriculum from 2006 onwards. So, this means almost every educated Indian youth under 30, must have gone through these books, at least once.

Let us now examine in detail the distorted reality of this, "detoxification":

In History Text Book for Class VII, Our Pasts-II, page 10 quotes Amir Khusro to show the fragmentation of India into different regions and languages, also implying Sanskrit to be an elitist language with no connection to the masses of any particular region.

British historians, Henry Elliot and John Dowson, had undertaken a compilation and translation project of the works of all authors who had written about India in the past 1000 years. This resulted in an 8-volume set called, "History of India: As told by its own Historians." And is considered the most authentic historical source about India till date. This work mentions the complete English translation of Amir Khusro's poem, Nuh Siphir which in Persian means Nine Skies, from which the abovementioned quotation of NCERT is taken.

Now let us compare the texts of NCERT and Eliot & Dawaon's translation:

"As I was born in Hindi, I may be allowed to say a word, respecting it's languages. There is at this time in every province, language peculiar to itself, and not borrowed from any other -Sindhi, Lahori, Kashmiri, Awadhi, Gauri (in Bengal), Ma'bari (in Tamil Nadu). These are all important languages of Hind, which from ancient times have been applied in every way to the common purposes of life."

The use of the word Hind and Khusro's praise of its culture, has been deliberately omitted by NCERT to suit its narrative of a fragmented polity which cannot be called a nation state. Moving on to the second line of NCERT which talks about Sanskrit not belonging to any region and quotes Khusro calling it a language which "common people do not know, only Brahmins do."

Let's now look at the original text of Khusro's poem here, "But there is another language more select than others, which all the Brahmins use. Its name is Sanskrit. They have 4 books in that language called Bed, which they are constantly in the habit of repeating. They contain stories of their Gods."

So, again Khusro's mention of Sanskrit as the language of Vedas is deliberately omitted and instead focus is retained on it being a language of only Brahmins, unknown to common people; to suit the narrative of NCERT of a casteist India. NCERT textbooks also strengthened the Aryan Dravidian myth by subtly suggesting that Sanskrit was an alien language brought by Brahmins who were outsiders themselves. Third tactic employed by NCERT authors is an old tried and tested brainwashing propaganda for kids whereby you first feed them a piece of information and then ask a question related to it. So, after misquoting Khusro's poem on Sanskrit, on the next page, NCERT comes up with this question, "Do you remember what Amir Khusro had to say regarding Sanskrit, knowledge and Brahmanas?"

Such a curriculum has given rise to the current Marxist-leftist ideology which believes India, as a nation came into existence only from 15th August, 1947 and do not believe centuries old continuity of our Civilization. The problem with Marxist narrative is that it automatically fractures the unity of India by proclaiming that the nationhood of India was formed in the crucible of British colonialism and thus the very idea of Indian nationalism is “an imposed narrative”. Hence today if any region (Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland etc) wishes to gain Independence, they must be allowed to do so. We see the real-world manifestation of this ideology by Azadi slogans and marches by JNU students today. In a way, this ideology paves way for a disunited Balkanized Bharat, condemning it to pre 1947 fate of foreign rule and mass genocide. Thus, these NCERT text books written on the beckoning of their political masters are working on the same agenda as Urban Naxals masquerading as students and Professors of Universities like JNU, Jadhvpur, Presidency College etc.

As a popular proverb goes, "One who controls the past, controls the future". This was applied effectively by all the Communist, Marxist, Fascist, Nazi regimes of the world to control their citizens. Now let us take another example of Class VI, NCERT, Our Past -I, 55 which states, "Women were considered akin to Shudras, both of whom had no right to study Vedas." This one sentence is enough to create hatred in the minds of female students and especially those students who come from Dalit background. At the same time this also created an inferiority complex in the minds of rest of Hindu kids regarding their ancestral practices and culture which was so discriminatory and casteist.

Even on aspects which are glorious about ancient India such as existence of democracy in Mahajanpadas, NCERT states, "Women and Dasas (slaves) could not participate in the meetings of the chieftains and warlords of Sanghas or Ganas." This is like saying the high -powered national security committee, commandeered by PM Modi and NSA Doval, had no women, SC, ST representatives present. In this way we can negate the importance of any institution regardless of its functional purpose, a tactic employed by NCERT authors in all 7 textbooks from Class VI to XII.

Now talking about the Ashram system of Ancient India, NCERT again says, "Women not being allowed to study Vedas had to follow the same Ashram as their husbands." This serves two purposes. Firstly, to hammer into the delicate minds of children again and again the fact that Ancient Indian culture was gender biased and secondly create a sense of shame in their Hindu identity.

Now let us examine the truth of these statements. The Vedic texts themselves mention 28 Rishikas or female scholars like Gargi, Aditi etc who composed the Vedic mantras. Common sense dictates that a Civilization in which women are writing a text will have no qualms in letting them read it too. Yet NCERT sadly do not subscribe to this logic. Vedas and Upanishads are called Shruti in Sanskrit meaning that which was heard or revealed. The source of revelation is said to be the sadhna anubhav (meditative insights) of the Rishis. Brihadarnakya Upanishad's 2nd chapter, 4th Brahman, clearly states that when Rishi Yagnavalkya embraces Sanyas Ashram, he asks the consent of his wives Katyayani and Maitre. Upon their agreement he divides his belongings equally among them and asks them to live together in peace and harmony.

Maitre in turns asks, "If the riches of this entire planet Earth becomes mine, will I become immortal?" The sage replies, "Don't expect materialism to bring you immortality. Like every physical object these riches will be left behind on this Earth after your demise." Thus, listening to Sage Yagnavalkya's wise words, Maitre develops vairagya or detachment and along with her husband embraces the Sanyas Ashram to embark on a quest for Moksha or enlightenment, while Katyayani inherits solely the entire estate and stays back. This clearly shows Vedic women had as much free will as their husbands to move forwards in any of the four Ashrams and were not compelled in any way.

Next moving to page 128, NCERT states, "Women and Shudras who were not allowed to study Vedas could listen to Puranas which were recited by Priests in the temples." Mughal ruler Jahangir in his book "Tuzuk e Jahangiri" writes, "As it is the maxim of Hindus that no good deed can be thoroughly performed by men without the partnership presence of a wife, whom they have styled the half of a man, and as a portion of the ceremonies and worshipping is yet before him, he takes his wife with him into the jungle."

Similarly, Hindu Kings like Chandragupta Maurya and Chattrapati Shivaji were from lower castes and yet they rose to the status of Emperors and are fondly hailed even today by all Hindus. Historian Jadunath Sarkar writes about the yagya performed by Chattrapati Shivaji on his coronation, "Shivaji sat down on a gold-plated stool. His Queen-consort, Soyra Bai, sat on his left with her robe knotted up with his, in sign of her being his equal partner in this world and the next (Saha Dharmini), as the Hindu sacred law lays down."

This Hinduism’s anti-feminist portrayal by NCERTs continues when describing about modern Indian History too. 8th std textbook, "Our Past-III" talks about a Sanskrit scholar and social reformer Pandita Ramabai. She is quoted as saying that Hindu Dharma oppresses women. She wrote a book about mistreatment of women even among higher caste Hindus. She opened a Vidhwaghar (Widow Shelter) in Pune where women were given refuge from the atrocities of their in-laws and trained vocationally. Reading this description undoubtedly gives you the image of a brave young woman, who stood against the currents of time to oppose the theological orthodoxy of a very prejudiced Hindu society. Yet the truth is much more complicated than that.

To understand the true story of Ramabai, let us go to a book written around 100 years ago called "Pandita Ramabai: The Story of Her Life" by Helen S. Dyer. Born in a Brahmin family, she was the daughter of a Sanskrit scholar named Anand Shashtri, who was very keen to see all his children highly educated. So, under her father's tutelage she learnt Sanskrit and Hindu Dharmic texts. Unfortunately, when she was 16, both her parents passed away in quick succession. Now orphaned, Ramabai and her brother faced dire poverty.

However, in the words of Ms. Dyer, "They gradually started public lectures on the cause of women's education. They attracted the notice of the Brahmin community, and received sufficient support and emolument to put days of starvation far behind. In Calcutta, a solemn conclave of Pandits bestowed on her the title of Sarasvati, on account of her learning. Travelling through Bengal, they were received with great enthusiasm by the Hindus, who were delighted to hear their holy Sanskrit from a woman's lips. It seemed to Bengali Hindus, as if Sarasvati, the very Goddess of Eloquence, had come down from heaves to visit them."

However, tragedy struck again and she soon lost her brother too. Now all alone, she eventually carried on her travels and social work, in the course of which she met and fell in love with a young lawyer. The couple soon married and had a baby girl. But within a couple of years of her marriage, her husband died as well.

Raising a little girl as a widow pushed Ramabai into poverty again. Undaunted she went to Poona and used her shastric knowledge to argue the cause of women welfare and education, raising awareness how the neglect of widows is a modern descent into denigration. Her lectures had a wide impact on Poona and were once again especially welcomed by Marathi Brahmins. With their cooperation a society of high caste women were formed, called Arya Mahila Samaj, to support the cause of female education and widow welfare.

However, soon she attracted the attention of the British officers of Education Commission who sent her to England under the guise of giving her more training and experience in the field of education. Here, taking advantage of her still frugal financial condition and her emotional pain at the death of her husband and brother, she was brainwashed into converting to Christianity and was baptized with her little daughter in the Church of England in 1883.

It was then that she wrote the book, mentioned in NCERTs, demonizing Hindu Dharma as being oppressive to women. Now funded by missionaries, she travelled all over UK and US to secure aid for a "secular" school for child widows of India.

Having secured $50000 from an Association of American Evangelists, Methodists, Baptists and Orthodox, she comes back to India and starts a chain of schools in Pune and Mumbai which are frequently visited by these foreign missionaries. These schools become a front runner for conversion of young Hindu girls.

Next NCERT says that a lot of Hindu nationalist were alarmed by the reformative steps taken by Ramabai and felt angry at her attempt to westernize Indian girls which they felt would dilute Hindu culture and family values. The truth is that her Sharda Sadan in Pune was welcomed by Lokmanya Tilak as an important step in the direction of women education. However, later when he read in a Christian magazine how this school was churning out highest number of young converts, that he reprimanded her for taking advantage of the vulnerable girls.

This is the same time period when Swami Vivekananda went to US to participate in World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Facing severe financial constraints, he still tried touring as much of US as possible only to be shocked by the malicious lies spread by Ramabai circle regarding Hindu dharma and status of Indian women. Wherever he went he was severely opposed by Ramabai Circle's converted members. In a letter to a friend, he Swamiji himself wrote about it, "I am astonished to hear the scandals Ramabai Circles are indulging in about me. Howsoever a man may conduct himself, there will always be persons who will invent the blackest lies about them. At Chicago, every day I invariably hear such things about me and these women are the very Christian of Christians."

A High Court petition filed on this issue was sent to NCERT in 2016, by Shri Neeraj Atri. In their reply, the Council stated, "During her lifetime, Ramabai's ideas severely disturbed upper caste sentiments. In 2016 she should not become the target of similar sentiments.” These two sentences speak volumes about NCERT’s “commitment” towards presenting a truly unbiased historical narrative.

Also, the readers should understand that it’s not that everything Ramabai wrote in her book was Anti Hindu. A paragraph from her book speaks about Hindu women's right of swyamvar which continued till 12th century AD when, "Due to lawless behaviour of the Islamic invaders infant marriage was universalized." NCERT could have quoted this but of course it wouldn't have fit into the "secular" narrative of our education curriculum.

Now contrast this to what NCERTs say about rise of Christianity, "Around 2000 years ago, in Western Asia, Christianity began with the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Christ is hailed as the saviour of this world who gave the message of love, peace and Goodwill to all." Historians even in Christian dominated Western countries do not describe Christ to be a historical figure and yet the NCERT textbooks do. As to the message of peace and goodwill, one only needs to do a simple google search to discover the shockingly violent narratives and acts mentioned in some of the Biblical texts. Similar glorification is done in these textbooks of Islam too, "Around 1400 years ago, Prophet Mohammad started Islam. Like Christianity, here too Allah was considered Supreme and after Him, everyone was considered equal."

Hellen Ellerbe's book, "Dark Side of Christian History" quotes Saint Clement as saying, "Every woman must be filled with shame on the thought that she is a woman." Since, like Shri Kamlesh Tiwari, I don't wish my name to trend on social media platforms with the prefixed words "Je suis" the next day, I will refrain from quoting what the Holy Book of religion of peace says about women. But you get the idea how a sense of Hindu inferiority is being created in the minds of children vis a vis other religions.

When talking about the Books of these Abrahamic religions, NCERT authors respectfully prefix the words "Sacred", "Holy" and "Divine". No such courtesy accorded to our Vedas which are referred to as mere ancient Sanskrit texts. Regarding authorship, NCERT say Vedas were composed by some priests. Similar historical truths are not written about the other two Holy Books. Bible was composed by the officials of Church from many books over a period of 300-400 years. Similarly, Arabic theologians composed the Islam's Holy Book 20 years after their Prophet's death.

NCERT further notes how priests divided the society into 4 varnas and said these groups were decided on the basis of birth. Later they classified some craft persons, hunters, gatherers and cremation workers as untouchables. The priests said contact with these groups was polluting. And once again, continuing its earlier toxic narrative, it is reiterated how priests disallowed women and shudras from studying the Vedas, NCERT quotes a line from the travelogue of Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian to support this narrative. Let us verify this claim from another historical text of 1900s "Chinese Literature" by Epiphanius Wilson, published by colonial press.

Here it should be noted that deliberately those sources are being quoted which are written by Britishers or Mughals, so that the readers may not be quick to jump to conclusion and brand this entire article as views of a "Sanghi/Bhakt/IT Cell member". We need to remember that when the famous Chinese pilgrim monk Fa Xian visited India, influence of Buddhism was widespread. How it was uprooted from India by Islamic invaders is the subject matter of another article in itself.

But looking to Fa Xian's views about Indian society, this text by Wilson, quotes him as saying, "People are numerous and happy. Throughout the country, nobody kills any living creature nor drink intoxicating liquor nor eat onions or garlic.

The only exception is that of the Chandals. That is the name for those who are held to be wicked men and live apart from others. When they enter the gate of a city or market-place, they strike a piece of wood to make themselves known, so that men know and avoid contact with then. In that country they don't keep pigs and fowls, don't sell live cattle, there are no butcher shops in the markets and no dealers in intoxicating drink. In buying and selling commodities they sell cowries. Only the Chandals are fishermen and hunters and sell flesh meat."

Some people may still feel uncomfortable with this description of “othering” and marginalization of Chandals but we need to look at this from the lens of Ancient Buddhist ethics where hinsa or violence of any kind was strictly prohibited. In such a society, it is but natural that people who hunt and sell meat will be characterized as lowly. It would be unfair to judge the norms of such a predominantly Buddhist society from our present-day standards. But most importantly it is worth remembering that this segregation had nothing to do with Brahmans as Fa Xian has not talked about Brahmans even once in his quote whereas NCERTs blames them entirely.

Yet in Class XII text book, NCERT states that this varna classification was divinely ordained in which they were ranked first and "untouchables" at the bottom of social order. Positions within the order were supposedly determined by birth. Stating further, NCERT claims, "Brahmins evolved 2-3 strategies for enforcing these norms. Apart from the claim of divine origin, they advised kings to ensure that these norms were followed within their kingdoms. They also enforced these prescriptions by stories of Ramayana, Mahabharat and other texts.

NCERT very conveniently neglects to mention the fact Ramayana was composed by Sage Valmiki who was earlier a dacoit from lower caste. This epic has other lower-class characters like Kevat and Shabri who are openly embraced by Shri Ram as his greatest devotees. Moving on to Vedas, Yajurveda, Chapter 26, Verse 2 states, "Just like I have given the Vedic wisdom to Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, you should also follow and preach the same to everyone."

Similarly, another Brahmanical text Shukraniti states in Chapter 1, Shlok 75-76, "Not by birth are Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra and Mlechchh separated, but by virtue and their deeds." Manusmriti is another Hindu text quite demonized by NCERT and a lot of other groups in present scenario. Let us see what this text states about the Varna system

"With good deeds, nature and properties, a Shudra can become a Brahman and if a Brahman relinquishes his sattvic deeds and qualities, he becomes a Shudra. And the same applies to Kshatriyas and Vaishayas too." (10/65)

Mahabharat (Vol 5, pg 197) quotes Sage Parashar, a Brahmin as saying, "O, King of Videh! Shudras well versed with the Vedic wisdom are called as Prajapati (Lord Brahma)." The sage further states, "O! King but I call them Lord Vishnu because they nourish this Universe just like the Great Lord Himself."

It is no wonder that the caste divisions are so sharp in our countries because if a society is to be broken, its population should first be pitted against each other. It is exactly this mandate which our current education system and these NCERT books are fulfilling.

The purpose of writing this article is not to demonize any person, organization or religious sect. My sole objective in presenting these many myths and distortions in Indian History text book is to appeal to all Indians to please read the authentic sources of History as well as original texts of our Sanatana Dharma whose translations are available in English, Hindi and all Indian regional languages so that we may self-educate ourselves and pass on the same values to our next generation which we have been inheriting for thousands of years from our forefathers.