GUWAHATI, Aug 13: Lok Sabha MP from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi has urged the Union education ministry to rectify the “significant historical inaccuracies” in the revised NCERT history textbook for Class VIII students.
In a letter addressed to Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Congress leader requested the education ministry to immediately correct the factual errors in the chapter, “Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities”, relating to the Ahom dynasty of Assam.
Gogoi expressed deep concern regarding the “historical inaccuracies” in the revised NCERT history textbook, the MP from Jorhat called for corrective action by reviewing the chapter with subject matter experts from Assam.
“The inclusion of the Ahoms, who ruled Assam for over six centuries and defended it against multiple Mughal invasions, is welcome and long overdue. However, their representation contains errors and oversimplifications that risk distorting students’ understanding of history,” the Congress leader wrote.
“The textbook states that the Ahoms migrated from present-day Myanmar, whereas historical scholarship locates their origins in Mung Mao, a Tai polity in the Dehong region of present-day Yunnan, China,” he stated in the letter to the Union education minister.
“The Paik system is inaccurately described as ‘forced labour’, disregarding its nature as a rotational administrative and military service structure, which provided land and advancement opportunities,” Gogoi wrote.
He further stated that “The 1663 Treaty of Ghilajarighat has been presented in the textbook as a defeat for the Ahoms, rather than the strategic truce it was – one that enabled the eventual expulsion of the Mughals from Assam.”
“The claim that the Ahoms ‘suppressed’ the Bhuiyan landlord class reduces a complex process of integration to a one-dimensional narrative,” the MP stated, while adding, “Significant elements such as the Khel administrative system, architectural landmarks like Rang Ghar and Talatal Ghar, and the Ahoms’ role in shaping Assamese identity are absent.”
He further pointed out that such inaccuracies not only undermine the historical legacy of the Ahoms but also risk perpetuating misconceptions about the cultural heritage of Assam and the Northeast.
“It is vital that national curricula reflect historical truths with balance and respect, especially when introducing regional histones to students across India. I urge the Ministry to take immediate corrective action by reviewing the chapter with subject matter experts from Assam and rectifying factual errors,” the Congress leader stated.