Publications

This paper aims to explore how textbooks have represented the modern history of the subcontinent and the rise of nationalism in the textbooks in India and Pakistan. While on a cursory view, the themes of ‘secular’ and ‘religious nationalist/communalist’ approaches in textbook development continue to resonate across both sides of the border (Bhattacharya, 2009), the factors that contribute towards the ideological stances that textbook development committees take over time seem to be rooted in the sociopolitical milieu of the respective countries (Aziz, 2004), the differences in access to higher education and research opportunities (Zaidi, 2009) and “convergence” of both the “liberal” and “conservative” voices in textbook development in being ignorant of the marginalized and subaltern voices in the textbooks (Guichard, 2010), (Thapar, 2009).

As Benei (2000,2008) and Wortham (2006) point out, the politics of textbook narratives hold profound importance in the classroom learning experience for a diverse population of students, leaving a plastic impact on their collective memory about nationalism, citizenship and identity.