Money

Removing Mughals from textbooks is nonsense, history must be continuous: Historian Romila Thapar

January 25, 2026

Published - January 25, 2026 11:01 am IST - KOZHIKODE Historian Romila Thapar | Photo Credit: The Hindu History is a continuous process and cannot be taught in fragments, eminent historian Romila Thapar has said, while calling the practice of removal of entire dynasties such as the Mughals from textbooks as “nonsense”. Speaking online at the ongoing ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), Thapar on Saturday (January 25, 2026) addressed issues ranging from the rise of popular history on social media to the importance of feminist history and the central role of education in questioning existing knowledge. “The kinds of things that are happening, where, for example, chunks of history are being thrown out of the syllabus, or we are told we don’t need to study them, are nonsense.

Removing Mughals from textbooks is nonsense, history must be continuous: Historian Romila Thapar

Credit: Thehindu

Key Highlights

History is a continuous process.
It is an evolution of people and cultures, of ways of behaviour and ways of thinking," Ms.
Thapar said.
"That continuity cannot be broken by saying, ‘All right, we throw this dynasty out, we throw Mughals out, we throw out that'.
It breaks history up and makes no sense," said the renowned historian, who has authored over 25 scholarly books, during the session "Women Writing History: Three Generations".

India

Sources

Removing Mughals from textbooks is nonsense, history must be continuous: Historian Romila Thapar

This quick summary is automatically generated using AI based on reports from multiple news sources. The content has not been reviewed or verified by humans. For complete details, accuracy, and context, please refer to the original published articles.

Removing Mughals from textbooks is nonsense, history must be continuous: Historian Romila Thapar

Key Highlights

Sources

Related Stories

GOP Sen. Cassidy breaks with Trump over deadly shooting by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis

Schumer: Democrats will block funding package if it includes homeland security money

Noem says Minneapolis suspect committed ‘domestic terrorism,’ accuses Walz, Frey of inciting violence