CHENNAI: CPI state secretary R Mutharasan on Friday strongly criticised the inclusion of what he termed "communal poison" in the class 8 Social Science textbook under the CBSE syllabus, and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

In a statement, he said the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) had presented events from the reigns of Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb in a manner that reflects Hindutva ideology and incites religious prejudice.

Such content, he said, sows the seeds of hatred in the minds of schoolchildren and promotes a majoritarian narrative. He noted that the textbook selectively interprets historical events from the 13th century and other periods to suit a contemporary political agenda, amounting to a distortion of history. He added that this shift in approach follows the appointment of individuals aligned with right-wing ideology to academic bodies.

Mutharasan drew attention to colonial history, stating that British and East India Company rule resulted in systematic plunder, which is thoroughly documented in 18th and 19th-century records. He said India's post-Independence federal and secular framework was built through collective struggles against such domination.

He noted that the curriculum should promote values of peace, social harmony, and decentralisation. Instead, by allowing communal content that fosters hatred against minorities, the NCERT undermines these principles. He called upon the Union Ministry of Education to immediately withdraw the revised textbook content and uphold the secular and democratic foundations of education.