Used academic sources, open to corrections: Michel Danino on NCERT Maratha map row

India Today

3 days ago

Questions have emerged over the NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook after a map in the chapter 'Rise of the Marathas' appeared to show the Maratha Empire's suzerainty extending over the Rajputana region, including Jaisalmer. The depiction has sparked criticism from members of erstwhile royal families in Rajasthan, several MPs, and protesting Rajput youth, who allege it distorts the region's Kshatriya history.advertisementMAP BASED ON PUBLIHSED ACADEMIC SOURCESMichel Danino, Guest Professor at IIT Gandhinagar (Archaeological Sciences) and Head of the Curricular Area Group for NCERT's Social Science textbooks, told India Today that the map was created using established academic sources that had not been previously challenged.'We created our map basing ourselves on several maps published earlier in academic books, which had never been contested. Therefore, if there was an error, it was in those sources. We are open to error correction, but this first requires patient research,' Danino said.
He added that defining an 'empire' is complex, with regions historically falling under direct rule, paying tribute as vassal states, or acknowledging suzerainty through agreements. This fluid nature of territorial control, he noted, cannot always be fully captured in a single map.PREPARED WITH EXPERT INPUTIn a detailed note titled Correction of Possible Errors, Danino said the chapter was prepared in consultation with Maratha period experts and drew on references such as historian G.B. Mehendale's Shivaji: His Life and Times and the Public Schools Historical Atlas.'There has been of late a rather shrill complaint that the map in (Fig 3.11, pg 71) wrongly depicts the Jaisalmer Kingdom as part of the Maratha Empire. Nowhere in the chapter is Jaisalmer mentioned,' he wrote.According to Danino, the sources used included not only directly administered areas but also tribute-paying states and contested territories, a practice also reflected in Encyclopaedia Britannica's description of Rajasthan being under Maratha control at the empire's peak.FURTHER RESEARCH UNDERWAYDanino acknowledged the short timelines involved in textbook preparation and confirmed that additional research was ongoing to verify the boundaries. If inaccuracies are found, a revised version will be prepared for future editions.'Further research is on to confirm whether our map's boundaries are incorrect. If they are, a revised map will be prepared based on the best information available and submitted for future editions of the textbook,' he stated.Meanwhile, protests continue, with members of Rajasthan's royal families urging the Union Education Minister to intervene, calling it a matter of cultural pride and historical accuracy. - Ends