Tipu Sultan, Anglo-Mysore wars missing from NCERT's new Class 8 social science book

India Today

17-07-2025

The newly released NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook has drawn attention for omitting key historical figures like Tipu Sultan and events such as the Anglo-Mysore wars from its chapter on colonial rule. While the book offers fresh economic and cultural perspectives, critics question the gaps in its portrayal of India's resistance against British expansion.WHAT THE NEW TEXTBOOK COVERSTitled Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), the textbook traces the arrival of Europeans in India starting from the late 1400s, beginning with Vasco da Gama. It highlights events like the Battle of Plassey (1757), the economic exploitation under colonial rule, and the 1857 rebellion, portraying how British colonialism drained India's wealth and disrupted traditional life.advertisementTIPU SULTAN AND MYSORE RESISTANCE LEFT OUTUnlike the previous textbook, the new edition omits Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the four Anglo-Mysore wars — a key chapter in the resistance to British expansion in southern India. These figures, once highlighted as major opponents of British power, no longer appear in the revised colonial narrative.SELECTIVE FOCUS ON RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS
While Mysore's resistance is missing, the book includes early uprisings like the Sannyasi-Fakir rebellion, Kol Uprising, and Santhal rebellion. A separate chapter on the Marathas mentions the Anglo-Maratha wars and states that the British 'took India from the Marathas more than from the Mughals or any other power.'NCERT'S EXPLANATION FOR THE OMISSIONMichel Danino, chair of the NCERT textbook development group, clarified that the current Class 8 textbook aims to give an overview rather than exhaustive detail. 'We fall back into the old mode of cramming textbooks with dates and wars if we try to include everything,' he said. On whether Tipu Sultan might appear in Part 2, he added, 'Probably not.'One of the key features of the new book is its focus on the economic impact of colonialism. Citing economist Utsa Patnaik, it claims that colonial powers extracted wealth equivalent to $45 trillion (in today's value) from India between 1765 and 1938. It also refutes the common narrative that infrastructure like railways and telegraphs were British "gifts", stating they were largely funded by Indian taxpayers for colonial interests.CULTURAL LOOT UNDER COLONIAL RULEThe textbook includes a new section on how colonial powers looted India's cultural wealth — statues, manuscripts, jewels, and artefacts — much of which ended up in European museums and private collections. It labels this appropriation as 'massive theft' carried out across colonised nations.While the textbook brings in important perspectives on colonial exploitation and cultural theft, its omission of major resistance figures like Tipu Sultan has sparked concern over whether it presents a holistic view of India's colonial past. Critics argue that skipping such chapters of history could dilute students' understanding of India's diverse anti-colonial struggle.- EndsMust Watch