NCERT’s New Class 7 History Textbook Expands Focus on Medieval Invasions

The new NCERT Class 7 history textbook offers a detailed account of medieval invasions, expanding coverage of Mahmud of Ghazni, Bakhtiyar Khilji, and Muhammad bin Qasim. It highlights destruction, plunder, and their historical impact, including the fall of Somnath and Nalanda. The book urges critical reflection while aligning with NEP 2020 and the updated curriculum framework.

A newly released NCERT Class 7 Social Science textbook has introduced a significantly expanded narrative on the Ghaznavid era, offering a sharper and more detailed account of Mahmud of Ghazni’s campaigns than earlier editions. The updated section places notable emphasis on the scale of destruction, plunder, and the religious motivations attributed to his invasions.

The six‑page segment, titled The Ghaznavid Invasions, opens with a cautionary note similar to the advisory found in the Class 8 chapter on the Delhi Sultanate. The text stresses that confronting difficult historical episodes is essential for understanding their causes and preventing similar events in the future. It also reminds students that while the past cannot be denied, responsibility for historical actions should not be assigned to people living today.

In contrast to the older textbook—which offered only a brief paragraph mentioning Mahmud’s 17 raids and his attacks on wealthy temples—the new edition provides an extensive overview of his military activities. It recounts his campaigns against Mathura, Kannauj, and Gujarat, including the well‑documented destruction of the Somnath temple.

Students are introduced to Mahmud’s battle tactics, including his use of swift cavalry and mounted archers, as well as his victories over Jayapala and Jayapala’s successor. The text describes how Somnath fell after prolonged resistance and how Mahmud returned to Ghazni laden with immense riches. The chapter also highlights the modern Somnath temple, rebuilt in 1950 with public contributions and inaugurated by President Rajendra Prasad, prompting students to consider the significance of public funding.

The revised content characterizes Mahmud as a formidable yet brutal commander whose expeditions caused mass civilian casualties and the capture of children sold across Central Asia. Drawing from chroniclers like Al‑Utbi, the book references accounts of temple demolitions, the seizure of livestock, and the construction of mosques atop destroyed sacred sites. Al‑Biruni’s descriptions of the shattered Somnath Shivalinga and its fragments being taken to Ghazni are also included—material absent from earlier editions.

Following the Ghaznavid discussion, the chapter Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries examines the rise of Muhammad Ghuri, Qutb‑ud‑din Aibak, and for the first time in a Class 7 NCERT book, offers a full narrative on Bakhtiyar Khilji’s eastern campaigns. It details the devastation of the renowned Buddhist universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila, the killing of monks, and accounts claiming that Nalanda’s library burned for months. The text notes that many historians see these events as contributing significantly to Buddhism’s decline in the subcontinent.

The chapter also introduces the Arab conquest of Sindh led by Muhammad bin Qasim, citing a 13th‑century Persian source that described his campaign as a religious obligation. It recounts the death of King Dahar and explains how the term “infidel” functioned within medieval Islamic discourse. The book observes that, unlike Arab conquests in West Asia or North Africa, the Sindh campaign had limited long‑term political or religious influence in India.

The chapter concludes by observing that large regions of north India and the entirety of south India remained beyond the control of these Turkic forces, with local rulers at times joining together to resist invasions.

NCERT Director Dinesh Saklani stated that the revised material aligns with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework 2023. The restructuring also comes as Class 7 social science content, previously divided across three books, has been consolidated and updated.