A new NCERT Class 8 social science textbook released on Monday states that Mahatma Gandhi and most Congress leaders opposed the 1947 Partition of India but accepted it as the only way forward. The old textbook described Partition as becoming more or less inevitable. The book covers the freedom movement from 1857 to 1947 with updated perspectives.
The new textbook, titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond Part 2, covers the period from the 1857 revolt to 1947, including the Partition of Bengal and the Partition of India. It notes that historians have debated the reasons for Britain's exit from India; the earlier view credited Gandhi's non-violence and Congress policies, but now recognizes multiple factors such as popular uprisings, revolutionaries' attempts, mutinies in the Royal Indian Air Force and Royal Indian Navy, Britain's diminished status after World War II, and the global trend toward decolonization.
The old Class 8 history book ended the Partition section by stating that the joy of independence came mixed with the pain and violence of Partition. The new book details Direct Action Day in August 1946, describing a wave of brutal communal violence in Calcutta, often encouraged by provocative speeches and pamphlets, where Muslim mobs attacked Hindus who retaliated, leading to thousands of deaths and displacements. This created deep fear, making peaceful coexistence seem impossible and Partition unavoidable. The old book only mentioned riots in Calcutta lasting several days with thousands of deaths.
On the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, the new book states that the British government has not apologized despite requests, describing it as a 'deeply shameful event in British history.' It includes a new section on the Paika Sangram, the 1800s rebellion by Odisha's traditional peasant militia against the British, which was previously omitted and criticized. The textbook aligns with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023. NCERT Director D P Saklani did not respond to a request for comment.
