HIS3006 - Modern Asian History: Literature Review of Indian Textbooks

This report is a literature review that examines the representation of the past in Indian history textbooks, focusing on an article by Romila Thapar. The review analyzes the main arguments presented in the article, which highlight the influence of colonial mindsets, nationalist views, and myths in the portrayal of Indian history. It discusses the strengths, such as the clear presentation and analysis of the issues, and weaknesses, including the complexity and length of the study. The target audience is identified as policymakers and educated intellectuals, emphasizing the social and political impact of history education. The report also lists the utilized sources, including NCERT textbooks and the works of various historians, and provides a bibliography. The review underscores the importance of understanding how history is constructed and presented, particularly in educational materials, and its potential effects on future generations.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Work to be reviewed........................................................................................................................2
Main Arguments..............................................................................................................................2
Strengths and weaknesses of the work............................................................................................3
Target audience................................................................................................................................4
Utilized sources...............................................................................................................................5
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................6

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Work to be reviewed
The topic of the study is: how has the past been represented in the history textbooks of
India? A journal that has been selected for understanding the topic further is “The history debate
and school textbooks in India: A personal memoir”. The article is written by Romila Thapar in
2009. The article was published in the history workshop journal. The article broadly deals with
the ways in which history textbooks of India deals with the past of the country. A thorough
analysis of the same is given throughout the article.
Main Arguments
The writer herself had written history books and has a sound knowledge of the history of
India throughout the various ages. The writer specializes in the ancient and medieval history of
India. The article deals with the problems that persist with the depiction of history in the text
books of Indian schools, especially the middle school years. The main argument is that the views
that are provided on the history books in the schools of India reflect greatly colonial mindsets.
Moreover, it was seen that the view of Indian past that were provided through these books also
reflected various myths that were present in the minds of many concerning the past of India.
According to the article the idea that was being provided of Indian history through the various
textbooks were dependent mostly on myths rather than known facts. This was the reality for
many of the historic chapters that were presented in the history textbooks of the time. At the
same time there was more emphasis on the glorification of some of the elements from the past.
This was much removed from the portrayal of facts in a logical and neutral manner.
There were some very strong nationalist influences over some of the topics that were
integral to the history books. The nationalist view was much in line with the colonial views and

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in some cases more communal in nature. In accordance the same there were various
interpretation of the Hindu past or the Islamic past of the country. At the same time there was the
hesitant nature on the books to understand the true nature and the influence of the caste system.
There were very much facts that were provide in the textbooks and there were lesser emphasis
towards diluting these facts. Hence, it can also be said in accordance of the views of the author
that they were unnecessarily lengthy. The author also speaks about the lack of enthusiasm that
the review committee of the historians had for their work in reviewing the books. This also made
the effective evaluation of the books difficult.
Strengths and weaknesses of the work
The article is very strongly presented by the author. One of the most crucial strengths of
the articles concerns the effective presentation of data by the author. The presentation is very
good and at the very beginning there is ample clarity about the subject of the article. Most
importantly the writer had pointed out the portrayal of Indian history in the NCERT textbooks.
The presentation makes the very obvious questions visible that have been long present about the
portrayal of history in the history textbooks of India. The issues that relate to the portrayal of the
Indian past in even some of the government supported history textbooks of India are very
effectively analyzed in the work. The analysis that is also provided in the work is a strong point
of the article. The writer makes clear all the essential assumptions about the colonial views and
the nationalistic views that are presented in the article. History is many times recorded and
presented in accordance of the views of the most powerful political forces of any country. At
many times history has been manipulated to suit the views of the ruling regimes of various
international powers. This is an important aspect that has been brought forward by the writer.
The writer has very strongly presented both the influences of the colonial mindset and the

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nationalist opinions in the history books that are read by children of middle schools. The sources
that were used were effective in providing information.
One of the critical weaknesses of the articles is the sometimes complicated sentences that
have been used. This makes some of the important parts of the article difficult to understand.
Hence, the study to some extent become complex. Additionally, the length of the study is a
significant weakness that can be seen. The article is lengthy and takes much time to be
completed. The presentation of the facts are systematic. However, some of the parts are given
more importance than the other parts. Hence, the description of the problem and the colonial and
nationalistic influences have been very properly presented. However, the effect this could have
on the future of history textbooks that are produced in India is not very vividly explained. There
is not much emphasis given on providing recommendations for the betterment of the textbooks.
There could have been utilization of more sources.
Target audience
The target audience of the text are clearly the higher authorities or policy makers and the
general educated intellectual publics of the country. Hence, it can be said that the article was
focused towards reaching the policy makers and the specialists. The course content is very useful
as the portrayal of Indian history among the students can have social and political impacts in the
future. Hence, the target audience selected were important as these two groups can most
effectively influence the settlement of the issues that were put forward through the article. The
article has been effective in terms of the aspects that were described and the value of the issues
that were discussed. This article has helped to create better understanding of the course content.
It has pointed out the impact of various social or political mindsets on history learning.

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Utilized sources
The sources that were utilized by the writer were NCERT textbooks, the views of many
historians and the various books on the history of India. The sources were effective in providing
the base views of the content that has been discussed. The sources very effectively complement
th subject of the work and provide an effective background and framework.

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Bibliography
Thapar, R., 2009, March. The history debate and school textbooks in India: A personal memoir.
In History Workshop Journal (Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 87-98). Oxford University Press.
Tripathi, D., 2016. Creating borders in young minds: A case study of Indian and Pakistani school
textbooks. Regions and Cohesion, 6(1), pp.52-71.