BENGALURU — Karnataka has become the latest battleground in India’s intensifying culture wars, as the state’s Congress-led government faces fierce opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over sweeping revisions to school textbooks. The changes, which affect social science and history curricula for students in Classes 6 to 10, have ignited accusations of ideological bias, historical distortion, and political interference in education. While the government defends the revisions as a necessary correction to outdated narratives, critics argue they reflect a deliberate attempt to reshape collective memory along partisan lines.
The controversy underscores a growing national trend: the weaponization of school curricula as a tool for political mobilization, with textbooks increasingly serving as proxies for competing visions of India’s past, present, and future.
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What Happened: The Contentious Changes
The Karnataka Textbook Society, under the direction of the state’s education department, introduced a series of revisions to the state’s social science and history textbooks in early 2026. The changes, which were implemented ahead of the new academic year, include:
1. Historical Figures and Dynasties
– References to the Vijayanagara Empire, one of South India’s most prominent medieval Hindu kingdoms, have been significantly reduced. The empire’s role in resisting Islamic sultanates and its cultural contributions are now condensed into brief mentions.
– The Chola and Chalukya dynasties, known for their architectural and administrative achievements, have also seen diminished coverage.
– In contrast, the contributions of B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, and Jyotirao Phule, a 19th-century social reformer, have been expanded. New sections highlight their critiques of caste oppression and their advocacy for marginalized communities.
2. Religious and Cultural Narratives
– The revised textbooks include critical perspectives on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu nationalist organization, particularly its role in India’s independence movement. The RSS’s opposition to the Quit India Movement and its perceived ambivalence toward British colonial rule are now explicitly mentioned.
– The portrayal of Swami Vivekananda, a 19th-century Hindu monk and nationalist icon, has been scaled back. While his teachings on spirituality and nationalism remain, his emphasis on Hindu revivalism is no longer a focal point.
– New chapters on environmental sustainability and gender equality have been introduced, framed as part of the state’s commitment to “progressive values.” These sections emphasize climate change, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ inclusivity, aligning with the Congress party’s stated priorities.
3. Colonial and Post-Colonial History
– The revisions place greater emphasis on the exploitative nature of British colonial rule, including its economic and social impacts. The role of Indian revolutionaries in the freedom struggle, such as Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose, has been expanded.
– The Mughal Empire, a frequent target of revision in BJP-ruled states, receives more nuanced coverage. While its cultural and administrative contributions are acknowledged, the textbooks also highlight its conflicts with regional kingdoms and its role in centralizing power.
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Why It Matters: The Stakes of Curricular Control
The textbook revisions are not merely an academic exercise; they represent a high-stakes struggle over who controls India’s historical narrative and how young citizens are taught to understand their identity. This debate has far-reaching implications:
1. Political Mobilization
The BJP has seized on the revisions as evidence of what it calls the Congress party’s “anti-Hindu” agenda. Party leaders have framed the changes as an attempt to erase Hindu heritage and rewrite history to suit a left-leaning, secularist worldview. The controversy comes at a critical time for Karnataka, which is gearing up for local body elections later this year. Both parties are likely to use the issue to rally their bases, with the BJP positioning itself as the defender of Hindu culture and the Congress casting itself as the guardian of secularism and pluralism.
2. National Precedent
Karnataka’s revisions are the latest in a series of state-level curricular battles that have played out across India in recent years. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP government has introduced textbooks that emphasize Hindu cultural heritage, including the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, while downplaying the Mughal Empire’s contributions. In Gujarat, the state’s education board has revised history textbooks to highlight Hindu resistance to Islamic rule and minimize references to Mughal emperors like Akbar.
The Karnataka government’s move appears to be a direct counterpoint to these efforts, framing its revisions as a defense of constitutional values and scientific temper. If successful, it could embolden other opposition-ruled states to pursue similar changes, further fracturing India’s educational landscape along political lines.
3. Impact on Students
At the heart of the debate is the question of what students should learn and how history should be taught. Proponents of the revisions argue that the changes are necessary to correct outdated narratives that have long marginalized certain communities. For example, the expanded coverage of Ambedkar and Phule is seen as a step toward addressing caste-based discrimination in historical accounts.
Critics, however, warn that the revisions risk politicizing education and undermining academic rigor. They argue that the changes were made without sufficient consultation with historians and educators, and that they reflect a selective interpretation of history designed to advance a particular ideological agenda.
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Background and Context: The Politicization of Education in India
The controversy in Karnataka is the latest chapter in a decades-long struggle over the role of education in shaping national identity. Since India’s independence in 1947, textbooks have been a contentious issue, with successive governments revising curricula to reflect their political and ideological priorities.
1. Post-Independence Era: Nehruvian Secularism
In the early decades after independence, India’s education system was heavily influenced by Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of secularism and scientific temper. Textbooks emphasized composite culture, highlighting the contributions of all religious and ethnic groups to India’s history. The Mughal Empire, for example, was portrayed as a period of cultural synthesis, while Hindu kingdoms were celebrated for their administrative and architectural achievements.
2. 1980s-1990s: The Rise of Hindu Nationalism
The BJP’s ascent to national prominence in the 1980s and 1990s brought a new focus on Hindu cultural nationalism. The party and its affiliated organizations, such as the RSS and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), began advocating for a rewriting of history to emphasize Hindu resistance to foreign rule and downplay the contributions of Muslim rulers. This period saw the first major textbook controversies, with BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan introducing revisions that reflected this worldview.
3. 2000s-2010s: The NCERT Debates
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which sets curricular standards for schools across India, became a battleground in the 2000s. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by the Congress party, introduced a series of revisions to NCERT textbooks in 2005, which were criticized by the BJP as anti-Hindu. The changes included reduced emphasis on Hindu kings and expanded coverage of Mughal contributions, as well as critical perspectives on the RSS.
The BJP, then in opposition, protested vehemently, and the issue became a major political flashpoint. When the BJP returned to power in 2014, it reversed many of these changes, restoring emphasis on Hindu cultural heritage and downplaying certain aspects of Mughal history.
4. 2020s: The State-Level Fracturing
In recent years, the politicization of textbooks has intensified, with states increasingly tailoring curricula to their political agendas. This trend has been particularly pronounced in BJP-ruled states, where revisions have often emphasized Hindu nationalism and cultural pride. For example:
– In Uttar Pradesh, the state government introduced a new Class 12 history textbook in 2023 that describes the Mughal Empire as “foreign rule” and highlights Hindu resistance to Islamic invaders.
– In Gujarat, the state’s education board revised Class 7 history textbooks in 2024 to minimize references to Akbar and emphasize the contributions of Hindu kings.
– In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena-led government introduced changes in 2025 that downplayed the role of the RSS in the independence movement and expanded coverage of Maratha history.
Karnataka’s revisions represent a counter-movement to these trends, with the Congress government seeking to reassert a secular, pluralistic narrative in education.
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Competing Claims and Uncertainty: Who Decides What Is “True”?
The textbook controversy has exposed deep divisions over how history should be taught and who gets to decide what is “true.” Both sides have marshaled arguments and experts to support their positions, but the debate remains far from settled.
1. The Congress Government’s Justification
The Karnataka government has defended the revisions as evidence-based and necessary for a modern curriculum. In a detailed justification released by the education department, officials argued that the changes were made after a “thorough review process” involving historians, educators, and subject matter experts.
– The government claims the revisions correct historical inaccuracies and address gaps in representation. For example, the expanded coverage of Ambedkar and Phule is framed as a long-overdue recognition of their contributions to social justice.
– Officials have also emphasized that the changes align with constitutional values, particularly the principles of secularism, equality, and scientific temper.
– The government has dismissed accusations of ideological bias, stating that the revisions are not about erasing history but about presenting it in a balanced and inclusive manner.
2. The BJP’s Counter-Narrative
The BJP has vehemently rejected the government’s claims, accusing it of distorting history to advance a left-leaning, anti-Hindu agenda. Key arguments include:
– The removal of references to Hindu kings and dynasties is seen as an attempt to erase Hindu heritage and undermine cultural pride.
– The critical portrayal of the RSS is described as “historical negationism,” with the BJP arguing that the organization played a significant role in India’s independence movement and should not be vilified.
– The reduced emphasis on Swami Vivekananda is framed as an attack on Hindu spiritual traditions and a deliberate attempt to marginalize nationalist icons.
– The BJP has also questioned the transparency of the revision process, alleging that the changes were made without adequate consultation with stakeholders.
3. Academic Divide
The controversy has split the academic community, with historians and educators offering competing perspectives on the revisions.
– A group of 50 historians and academics, including professors from Bangalore University, released a joint statement supporting the changes. They argued that the revisions promote a more nuanced understanding of history and address long-standing biases in the curriculum.
– However, another group of scholars, including members of the **Indian Council
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Story synopsis gathered from: Google News India Politics — source.
