New NCERT Social Science text replaces European revolutions with resistance movements in medieval India
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Understanding Society: India and Beyond - Part Two textbook. Photo: Special arrangement.
The new Social Science textbook for Class 9 students released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Tuesday (September 29, 2026) has removed several chapters on European revolutions and has instead prioritised India’s medieval history, regional resistance movements, and the impact of successive foreign invasions in its new edition.
The new textbook, Understanding Society: India and Beyond - Part Two, replaces the previous edition’s chapters on European revolutions, particularly the French and Russian revolutions, with a detailed exploration of Indian sovereignty and resilience.
The new textbook introduces a comprehensive framework detailing the Indian subcontinent’s response to expansionist powers between 1,000 and 1,700 CE. It says that from the 7th century onwards, the Indian subcontinent faced successive phases of invasions driven by “territorial expansion and religious motives”.
India’s historic wealth, the textbook says, was a primary catalyst for these incursions. It notes that the surplus agrarian produce generated by the fertile plains of India’s perennial river systems contributed to the region’s economic well-being, effectively making it a prime target for foreign forces.
A chapter titled ‘Resistance and Resilience’ turns a sharp lens on the relationship between the Mughal state and the Sikh Gurus. The textbook describes “the brutality of the Mughal state” against the Gurus as having “few comparisons in history”. As evidence, it cites the execution of Guru Arjan Dev and the detention of Guru Hargobind under Emperor Jahangir, as well as the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur under Emperor Aurangzeb.
The book argues that this political pressure and persecution catalysed the Sikhs’ transition toward collective armed resistance. It traces this evolution through Guru Hargobind’s establishment of the Akal Takht and the subsequent rise of Sikh military confederacies.
The revised textbook also allocates a separate section to regional kingdoms and communities that defended their sovereignty, under the chapter titled, ‘Safeguarding Sovereignity: Resistance, Alliances and Confederacies’.
For instance, it highlights the Jats of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, who rebelled in the Jat Uprising of 1669, and attributes their uprising to severe economic exploitation, heavy Mughal taxation, and resentment toward Aurangzeb’s religious policies. According to the textbook, the peasants were heavily burdened by the Sultanate’s iqta system, while military campaigns often involved the demolition of sacred local sites. It credits the Yadava, Kakatiya, and Hoysala kingdoms with leading this resistance.
Despite the emphasis on conflict, the NCERT text clarifies that this era should not be viewed purely as a narrative of subjugation. Instead, it notes that “resistance and resilience are closely linked”, and frames this historical period in India as characterised by both conflict and cooperation, rather than framing it only as a story of invasion.
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