Historian Romila Thapar Calls Removal of Mughal Dynasty from Textbooks ‘Absurd’
Eminent historian Romila Thapar has strongly criticized the move to exclude the Mughal dynasty from school textbooks, describing such efforts as nonsensical. Speaking at the ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), Thapar emphasized that history must be taught as a continuous, unbroken narrative rather than being fragmented or selectively erased.
History Is a Continuous Process
Thapar argued that reducing history to isolated segments distorts the understanding of the past. She stressed that history is not a collection of disconnected events but an evolving story of people, cultures, behaviors, and thought processes. Removing entire dynasties like the Mughals, she said, is both unreasonable and detrimental to education.
Concerns Over Curriculum Changes
The historian expressed alarm over ongoing attempts to omit significant portions of history from academic syllabi. She noted that students are increasingly being told that certain chapters of the past simply do not need to be studied. Thapar dismissed these developments as baseless and harmful, urging educators and policymakers to recognize the importance of preserving historical continuity in learning.
Role of Education and Feminist History
During her online address at the festival, Thapar also touched upon the growing popularity of history on social media platforms. She highlighted the importance of feminist historiography and the need to question existing knowledge frameworks. Education, she asserted, plays a central role in fostering critical thinking and challenging incomplete or biased narratives.
Broader Implications for Learning
Thapar’s remarks come amid wider debates about the rewriting of history in educational materials. Her stance reinforces the view that history should be studied in its entirety, not cherry-picked for ideological convenience. The historian’s comments serve as a reminder that a society’s understanding of its past shapes its future, and that any attempt to distort or erase parts of that past undermines the very purpose of education.
Her intervention adds a strong voice to the ongoing discussion about the integrity of historical scholarship and the responsibility of educational institutions to present a complete and accurate account of the past.
