New present, newer past & newer textbooks
R S Krishna
Over the years, history textbooks have invited criticisms and controversies. Falsifications, reductionism, exculpation and simplifications have been the debate’s operating diactricals. To cut to the chase, ideology and politics of either left-secular or conservative-cultural character tend to determine the contents that go into and out of history textbooks. For, as scholarly axioms in sociology goes, there are no absolute truths or facts. So in my view both left-secular and Indic-liberal views and their respective overarching frameworks that imbue their textbooks writing ventures, have limitations. Yet I argue that if aspects of both epistemic frames can be carefully brought forward in a creative and dialogic pedagogical exercise, useful possibilities can emerge.
Damning textbooks – a mistaken view
History textbooks carry the burden of being obligated to the changing governments and their ideological and political predilections. Generally, in progressive educational discourse, textbooks are seen to be a bane which colonizes the curriculum. Nevertheless, textbooks have acquired sacrosanct value, and consequently any teaching or learning beyond and outside them. Textbooks’ role and purpose are not well understood, and often misconstrued. And tragically NEP 2020 too barely goes into the role of textbooks. As another example let us take the Karnataka state’s social science curriculum draft, released in 2022 (https://dsert.kar.nic.in/nep/4_Education_in_Social_Science.pdf). Among some of the suggestions that the draft makes is a bizarre one suggesting to limit the content pages for classes VI to VIII to not more than 60 pages! And this is not just history but within 60 pages should be compressed lessons from geography, economics and political studies as well! Rest of the text, it maintains, should carry activities and questions that scaffold the content.
It goes without saying that it’s not the extensive linearity of history textbooks than the humongous volume of data, ‘facts’ wrapped in them that fazes both students and teachers. As long as the texts are engaging, factoring in the social world and lived experiences of students, then, even if the pages become a bit too many, its bulk would barely be noticed.
Besides, the need for a good textbook cannot be emphasized enough. Far from being dreary, we have the example of Eklavya social science textbooks for upper primary schools in Madhya Pradesh which can engage not only children but adults too. The same goes for Kerala state textbooks where history, geography, economics segues rather seamlessly. Though the premise of these textbooks is based on conflict, hierarchies, selective pluralism and minimizes possibilities of reading homogeneous elements in the ancient Indian past, yet in terms of thematic and conceptual use, it no doubt can grab even the most disinterested of readers, not just children. Secondly, for many Indian households, possessing books and reading habits are still abysmal. Textbooks may be the only book to be read in an entire life of many individuals. Thirdly, given the woeful state of teaching and teacher education, teachers themselves are at a loss to independently teach with mere knowledge of curricular objectives. The textbooks are as much as a scaffold to the teachers and probably more so than for the students in India. However, rather than focusing on comprehensiveness and huge amounts of atomized data, what would really help is when the history/social science textbooks should be endowed with thematic and conceptual qualities.
Exploring a new possibility – An outline
So based on NEP 2020 suggestions and draft Karnataka social science document, what design, character and pedagogical worth can the new history and social science textbooks take? Of the block, I think classes VI to X should have merely one key theme per year which is interrogated extensively encompassing aspects not just from our past but also relating to the present from domains of political studies and economics through select themes and concepts. (Geography in such an imagination has not been integrated which can have an exclusive textbook for itself.)
The themes that can be useful and classified as under (with key concepts, highlighted below in bold and aspects needing inclusion elaborated a little) on which the textbooks can dwell:
Class VI
A. Urban and rural societies:
i. Starting with cities in India today; the characteristics that distinguish cities from villages- nature of economy – industrial, services and agrarian professions, infrastructure – transport, power, water supply;
ii. Urban societies as melting pot, its multiculturalism as an important distinguishing feature – several current examples from India to be given.
iii. Highlighting the limited industrialization or presence of crafts that explains greater ruralisation of society till 18th century in India and across the world.
iv. Exploring and understanding how rural societies depended on river flooding, tanks and well irrigation and animal husbandry in the past but changes in farming practices in contemporary times – Green Revolution new varieties of seeds, accessing water from bore wells, and use of chemical fertilizers changes agriculture, productivity and rural societies today.
v. Exposure to Urban societies in the past – case study of Harappan cultures, select urban centres in Gangetic belt (Varanasi, Pataliputra) and from peninsular India (Hampi, Madurai based on travellers accounts, archaeological sources) and a city in India today. The role of Buddhism & Jainism in spurring urban change in ancient India.
vi. Temples and urban centres in later ancient (or early mediaeval) India, increasing urbanisation with Islamic rule culminating to cities in colonial period. (These aspects will be taken up in detail in class VIII & IX)
vii. Delineation on Panchayats and Municipalities.
Class VII
B. Governance and politics:
i. Meaning of state and governance; types of government in India and world today; Monarchies – oligarchies (Graeco-Roman types, Vedic and post Vedic oligarchy, ancient Tamilagam chieftainships), bureaucratic states (Mauryas), feudal (inter alia familiarizing with the varied nature of governing classes that includes types of nobility – samantas, zamindars and jagirdars), absolute nation states, modern democracies.
ii. Explain the evolution of political sensibilities from being a subject in a kingdom and a member of a faith, village guild (caste) to citizenship which gives an individual a choice to be free from such identities or to nurture them or even acquire newer ones like belonging to modern nations or skillfully combining both. Discussing how and why the Indian Constitution defines both the role of state and fundamental rights and fundamental duties of citizens, exemplifying the nature of democracy vis a vis despotic states in the past.
iii. Few case studies of Indian kingdoms (factoring in literary sources i.e. epics, mythology, didactic normative texts) of early ancient India which are examined. Interrogation of Mauryas, Satvahanas, Guptas (all mandatory) and shifts with Pallavas, Chalukyas, Cholas, Rashtrakutas, Palas, Pratiharas. (any two done varying from region to region).
iv. Interrogating the concepts of nyaya and Raj Dharma – exploring ethics of governance mediated by competing and complimenting normativities embedded in ritualistic-priestly Hinduism, Sramanic Buddhism, Jainism and Tamil didactic texts in pre-Islamic Indian states.
v. Elaborating the nature of conflict and war till the 13th century – why wars and how they are connected to state building.
vi. The emergence of regional and new linguistic cultures and contrasting that with state governments in India today which too are based on linguistic divisions. Regional linguistic cultures’ dialectical relationship with sanskrit cultures, which were not necessarily exclusive should form another key aspect that is brought out in the text.
Class VIII
C. Economy and society:
i. Agriculture and division of labour, the agrarian basis of pre-colonial period. The nature and specialization of industries (crafts) in pre-colonial India with particular focus on textiles, pottery, masonry and metallurgy. Contrasting this to the Indian economy today dominated by industry and services and the importance of global trade.
ii. Familiarity with GDP, per capita income. The communities in the past were dedicated to these skills and emergence and continuation of caste guilds (jati) and how it also rendered certain harmony between occupational communities. Its increasing rigidisation and exploitative character to the disadvantage of the communities doing most menial occupations (untouchability). That, in such a context, gender divisions too became more entrenched with women mostly confined to households is another aspect to be dwelt upon.
iii. Examining instances of the ecosystem communities of tribals or adivasis being in a dynamic relationship with the ecology of forests or grasslands and also with people of agrarian cultures in rural societies characterized by both conflict and cooperation.
iv. The role of trade, mercantile communities and balance of trade beginning from Harappan cultures to 12th century India and extent of monetisation (coins). Changes in Indic belief systems and newer and different expressions contesting Vedic cosmology i.e. Buddhism, Jainism.
v. The growing importance, value of temples and their social and economic role and unearthing the linkages between cultural expression and social formations and rise of devotional Saivism and Vaishnavism (Bhakti) across the subcontinent. The types of temples in India and sculptures, along with music, dance and art expressive of certain social unity notwithstanding the seemingly distinct forms.
Class IX
D. Coming of Islam:
i. The social and economic changes. Increasing trade, craft and related occupations leading to greater urbanisation. How Islamic states also represented development of a state prone to more bureaucratic centralisation.
ii. Union Government in India today and push and pulls of different level of governance (union vs state vs local self bodies – King vs nobles vs village councils) as evidenced both in the Indian Constitution and 75 years post- independence.
iii. The changing conflicts and wars against existing Indic monarchies and kingdoms and even between newly established Islamic states.
iv. Case study of Delhi Sultans, Mughals, Bahamanis, Bengal Sultanate. Differences and similarities between pre-Islamic and Islamic states (taxation, nature of nobility)
v. Differences to social fabrics – conversions, acculturation, enculturation, social change to Hinduism and its resilience under Kabir, Basavanna, Chaitanya, Eknath, Tukaram, Tulsidas, Surdas, Chokhamela, Nanak. Spiritual and syncretic Islam under Sufis.
vi. Highlighting the architectural, artistic, musical, gastronomic legacy of Islamic rule in India. Indo-Saracenic architecture, hindustani music, miniature paintings.
vii. The powers that confronted Islamic rule if not Islam – starting with Sindh and Kashmir kings against Arabs, the Rajputs against Afghans and Central Asian migrants constituting Delhi Sultans; Rana Pratap, Shivaji and Lachit Bhurphukan against Mughals, Vijayanagara against peninsular Deccan Sultanates of Bahamanis, the later Marathas – Peshwas, Holkars, Scindias, Gaekwads – against later Mughals and newer adversaries – Persian, Afghan and East India company.
Class X
E. Colonialism and nationalism:
i. Changing ruling class character in Europe where merchants and traders began to dominate their respective nations and looked for trading monopolies.
ii. Development of a new entrepreneurial class and middle classes engaging and leveraging science to the advantage of craft production and engendering the Industrial Revolution and the need for raw materials and markets. Detailing these factors in many countries of Western Europe would contextualise colonialism. To bring forward contrast where Asian and African societies lacked such social transformation, dominated by agrarian and feudal classes that weakened them vis a vis Europe who, by sheer military tactics, guile and brazen opportunism colonized India. Battle of Plassey, Buxar, Anglo-Maratha, Carnatic and Anglo-Mysore wars have to be connected to the latter aspect without elaborating much on the events.
iii. Delineating how to minimize competition, British political control further prevented India’s industrialization (de-industrialization) by high taxation for indigenous manufacturing and to ensure cheap raw materials compelled cultivation of cash crops. Increasing accountability, plugging leakages and creating a new land revenue and legal system (permanent settlement, Ryotwari system) mis-recognizing revenue title holders as landlords, increased tax burden on ordinary farmers further impoverishing and alienating them along with old feudal landlords who lost all political power. The text, without going into needless details, can limit to highlighting this context to explain several peasant revolts including the 1857 revolt. Such economic and political policies, the drain of wealth, created anti-British sentiment and fostered the basis for nationalism.
iv. The narration should also bring about how education, newer administration and governance under British worked as a double edged sword – on one side denigrating and rendering both Indic and Islamic faith and society as inferior, caste stratified, other worldly. Parallely colonialism also re-represented and initiated reform of Indian faiths and culture to the benefit of Indians themselves.
v. The chapter on national movement along with underscoring the sacrifices, suffering endured by thousands at the hands of a brutal colonial state, should comparatively elaborate how nationalism across the world had either religion, language or race (ethnicity) to prop them even as pursuing a more liberal and democratic social order. The narration should provide insights into how the Indian national movement initiated by even a moderate Congress and particularly by Gandhi and Nehru later sought to minimize Hindu cultural character to it, in the name of pluralism, secularism and socialist ideals.
vi. Several leaders starting from Tilak, Lajpat Rai and later V D Savarkar and to some extent Patel, Rajagopalachari too had reservations against such trajectory of Indian national movement which tried to placate the Muslim leadership and still couldn’t prevent partition of India.
Clarifications and justifications
One may well note the above is not comprehensive and merely represents a possibility, an outline which needs further working and refining. Yes, several themes and its suggested rendering may appear to upend the narrative that the NCERT textbooks have been maintaining for years. It was reflective of the left-liberal-secular historians’ dominance in Indian historiography. However, here one bases the arguments on merit in claims of India’s unique pluralistic Indic cultures. An overt exhibition of a conscious political unity does not easily yield itself in our pre-Islamic past but such new narratives recognizes that notwithstanding its social schisms and hierarchies one can discern an overarching collective. This view manifests from not just Vedic and post Vedic normative texts but even in discourses, doctrines and the cosmology embedded in a putatively non-Hindu Buddha, Basavanna, Kabir, Nanak and Ambedkar.
Unfortunately this sacred totality even as it imbibed and absorbed elements from Islam and an amalgamated culture did evolve, it ultimately failed. Pakistan was the culmination of a logic and not merely an outcome of political shenanigans of Mohammad Ali Jinnah or even the simplistic ‘divide and rule’ dictum of the British. It was the intrinsic insularity and obduracy of political Islam (and Islam is a very political faith) which at best could accommodate Indic faiths opportunistically under whims of not just select monarchs but even its more seemingly syncretic Sufi mystics. The then pluralist civil society and public sphere also couldn’t but be overwhelmed by political-theological regimes that were default bigoted. Here colonialism is not made a straw man that solely carved out distinct identities and then engineered faith based divisions.
To repeat the past by itself makes no meaning and historical facts do not exist by themselves but rendered meaningful only in certain compelling and informed narratives. The left-secular narratives had us believe through a sophisticated but contrived narrative that only post – 1857 a nationalist consciousness emerged for which the Indian National Congress was primarily responsible and there was no Indic or Hindu solidarity prior in the past. So encompassing adherents of Abrahamic faiths and privileging their identities and insulating them only through constitutional provisions makes India multicultural, which even an intrinsically pluralistic Hindu polity cannot. Indeed Hindu identity and polity is a myth and its hybridization vis a vis Islamic and Christian presence happened non-reflexively shorn of self-awareness.
Political developments in India i.e. the rise of Hindutva, over the last 40 years about which much of liberal-secular discourse is derisively contemptuous with apocalyptical forebodings, can also be seen as yet another trajectory of nationalism coming to fruition, something that remained shunned, poorly articulated during the freedom struggle. Contra scholarship of the likes of Ashis Nandy, such a trajectory, rather than seen treading the derivative path of colonial and Eurocentric modernity, is yet another expression of globalizing modernity, (several elements of it seen developing even before India’s colonial conquest) but embodying itself more formally with a specific cultural past. Such a (re)construction is cognate of colonialism and even when it attempts to render certain epochs as constituted by the putative ‘other’, its legacy in the form of different cultures and faiths obtained today are not seen as polarizing absolutes. But the quest then is also to recognize the normative import obtained in Hindu/Indic pluralist cultures that enable members of all faiths to partake with pride. This will little undermine India’s constitution and the liberal, secular democracy it sets out our nation to be.
There is indeed another slant in the suggested outline above, of a more indulgent view of market led development and the bourgeoisie. Their role rather than being demonized is critically viewed which under democratic and legislative supervision can be nurtured and made accountable to the benefit and interest of all including the working classes. Therefore capitalism and globalization are not ad nauseum condemned, typical in Marxist texts that colonizes much of social science scholarship but see them according to facts emerging in each instance not ignoring the struggle of the marginalized and oppressed demanding their rightful claims.
All these then require, in which the textbook and social science curriculum will concretely aid, nurturing of identities of citizenship transcending prejudicial identities of class, caste, community and faiths. No less than NEP 2020 so mandates it.
The above textbook novelty will certainly require fresh grounding, learning and pedagogical training and supplements for teachers. So a primer is required that scaffolds teacher interventions explaining the whys and whats of the text along with alternative arguments on each theme and topics to ensure certain dialogic possibilities in classrooms. Needless to say, several suggested activities and assessment strategies are also critical in these primers to ensure making the textbook meaningful and effective.
The author ‘retired hurt’ from teaching and education after 18 years of struggle. He is the author of the book India’s Past, its Learnings, its Pedagogies: Teacher Mediations of History Textbooks. His musings can be checked out on ‘Get Histerical’ on Facebook and his blog www.historyandpedagogy.org. He can be reached at krishna.rs@gmail.com.
