Mughal’s ‘brutality’ against Sikh Gurus part of NCERT textbook

The brutality of the Mughal state against the Sikh Gurus had “few comparisons in history” and was rooted in “rigid religious and discriminatory practices”, according to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Class 9 Social Science textbook, part 2, Understanding Society: India and Beyond, released on Tuesday.The history chapter, “Resistance and Resilience (1000–1700 CE)”, says the “valour and sacrifice” of the Sikh Gurus “for the cause of the faith” became defining features of Sikhism.The previous textbook, first published in 2007 and continued till 2025-26 academic year, followed different progressions of historical chapters and did not contain the above mentioned instance.The history chapter, “Resistance and Resilience (1000–1700 CE)”, says the “valour and sacrifice” of the Sikh Gurus “for the cause of the faith” became defining features of Sikhism. It says their martyrdom strengthened the community’s conviction that persecution had to be met with “firm resistance and resilience”.“The brutality of the Mughal state against the Sikh Gurus, particularly Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, has few comparisons in history,” the textbook says. “The valour and sacrifices of the Gurus for the cause of the faith became the defining features of Sikhism. Beyond political motivations, the act [execution of Sikh Gurus by Mughals] was also deeply rooted in the rigid religious and discriminatory practices of the Mughals,” it adds.The textbook says the Mughal state began to intervene more and more in the affairs of the Sikh Gurus from the beginning of the 17th century as their “socio-cultural influence” grew.It says, “Due to the growing socio-cultural influence of the Sikh Gurus, the Mughal state increasingly intervened in their affairs from the beginning of the 17th century. As the Guru’s influence was increasing, Jahangir ordered the execution of Guru Arjan Dev (the fifth Sikh guru) on the pretext of the Guru’s alleged support to Jahängīr’s rebellious son, Khusrau Mirza.”It describes the martyrdom as a “significant turning point” in Sikh history.The book also records Guru Hargobind’s detention by Jahangir at Gwalior Fort and the establishment of the Akal Takht as a seat of temporal authority, along with the concept of miri-piri, representing spiritual and worldly authority.On Guru Gobind Singh, the textbook says, “In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh established and developed a Sikh order known as the Khalsa. The Khalsa adopted a distinct martial code in response to the changing socio-political environment. Through this process, spiritual identity became closely intertwined with the pursuit of political identity.”The framing is also sharper than that of older NCERT history textbooks. An older Class 11 history textbook by late historian Satish Chandra, first published in 1978, described the conflicts between the Sikh Gurus and the Mughals under Jahangir and Shah Jahan as “political and personal rather than religious”. The older textbook was in use till 2006.Historian Ruchika Sharma, who specialises in medieval Indian history and is a former fellow at the University of Essex, said the new textbook was reviving what she described as a “massively debunked” interpretation of the Sikh-Mughal conflict as primarily religious. “The conflict was 100% political,” she said. She argued that the relationship was cordial at first and changed after Guru Arjan Dev supported Khusrau, including by putting a tilak on him, which she described as an act of political opposition to Jahangir.NCERT did not respond to HT’s queries. In the foreword, NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani wrote: “The content has been carefully selected to engage students with questions related to society, governance, environment, culture, economy, and human relationships...”