The updated Class 7 Social Science textbooks will provide students with a much clearer view of one of India’s more violent historical periods. The new NCERT social science textbook significantly expands the section on Mahmud of Ghazni’s invasions.
Students will get to know about his campaigns in Mathura, Kannauj, and the Somnath temple in Gujarat, complete with illustrations and informative boxes. The textbook showcases not only his raids and plunder, but also the human cost of his campaigns and his attempts to extend his version of Islam into the non-Muslim regions.
The textbook discusses in detail the consequences of Mahmud’s campaigns. It mentions the slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians, the capture of prisoners comprising children sold in Central Asian slave markets, and the destruction of temples and sacred buildings.
Contemporary sources such as his court historian Al-Utbi record Mahmud’s destruction of temples, the taking of children and livestock as loot, and the construction of mosques in the conquered territories. Scholar Al-Biruni explains the destruction of the Somnath Shivalinga and the transport of parts of the image to Ghazni.
The textbook also notes that the present-day Somnath temple was rebuilt in 1950 and inaugurated by President Rajendra Prasad, calling students to reflect on why public donations were used for reconstruction.
The chapter, “Turning Tides: 11th and 12th centuries,” further references Muhammad Ghuri and his general Qutb-ud-din Aibak, along with army commander Bakhtiyar Khilji, highlighting his campaigns in eastern India, including the destruction of Buddhist centres such as Nalanda and Vikramashila. These details were not included in the previous Class 7 textbook.
The chapter ends by emphasising that much of south India and parts of north India were beyond the control of Turkic invaders and that local rulers sometimes united against them.
The textbook places the Ghaznavid invasions within a larger historical framework, beginning with empires and kingdoms from the 6th to 10th centuries, comprising rulers of Kannauj, Kashmir, the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Pallavas, and Cholas. It also discusses foreign invasions by the Hunas and Arabs, including Muhammad bin Qasim’s campaign in Sindh, explaining his motivations and the limited political and religious impact of his conquest.
NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani said the content is self-explanatory, reflecting the motive to provide students with a balanced and detailed understanding of India’s historical developments. The new Class 7 textbooks consolidate history, civics, and geography into two comprehensive books for the current academic session, replacing the earlier three-textbook system, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework 2023.