NCERT book expands chapter on Ghazni invasion: Cities sacked, tens of thousands killed

The new NCERT Social Science textbook for Class VII, titled "Exploring Societies: India and Beyond," now features an extensive, six-page section on the Ghaznavid invasions, detailing the campaigns of Mahmud of Ghazni and his alleged slaughter and plunder.

 As reported by ANI, replacing a single paragraph in the old curriculum, the book explicitly states that Mahmud conducted 17 campaigns in India, returning to Ghazni each time with vast treasures. It describes in detail the plundering of key cities, including Mathura and Somnath.

Slaughter of tens of thousands of Indian civilians

The new text states that Mahmud's campaigns involved not only "destruction and plunder but also the slaughter of tens of thousands of Indian civilians and the capture of numerous prisoners, including children." These captives were reportedly sold in the slave markets of Central Asia.

His biographers are quoted as portraying him as a cruel general determined "not only to slaughter or enslave 'infidels' (that is, Hindus, Buddhists, or Jains) but also to kill believers from rival sects of Islam."

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The book highlights the destruction of magnificent temples, including the Shiva temple at Somnath, from which he carried away vast treasures. Furthermore, the textbook quotes the Persian scholar Al-Biruni, who wrote that Mahmud "utterly ruined the prosperity of the country... by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust. Scattered in all directions."