When the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power in India in 1998 as the largest party of the National Democratic Alliance, it soon became evident that it prioritized educational reforms. Under BJP rule, a reorganization of the National Council of Educational Research and Training occurred, and in 2002 four new history textbooks were published.

This book examines the new textbooks which were introduced, considering them to be integral to the BJP s political agenda. It analyses the ways in which their narrative and explanatory frameworks defined and invoked Hindu...