Assam govt to rewrite history textbooks; CM flags ‘errors’ in Saraighat battle
The Chief Minister said the decision has been conveyed to Education Dept, without detailing the rationale behind it
CM Sarma during 10th Mising Youth Festival at Kareng Chapori on Friday.
Guwahati, Jan 31: The Assam government has instructed the Education Department to initiate a revision of high school history textbooks, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has informed, questioning established accounts of the role attributed to Ahom-era warrior Bagh Hazarika in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 10th Mising Youth Festival at Kareng Chapori on Friday, Sarma said the decision had already been conveyed to the Education Department, though he did not elaborate on the broader rationale behind the move.
The Chief Minister flagged references in school textbooks that describe Bagh Hazarika as having fought alongside Ahom general Lachit Borphukan against Mughal forces during the historic battle.
“There was no Bagh Hazarika with Lachit Borphukan in the Battle of Saraighat. It was Mising leader Miri Handique who fought against the Mughals in Kamrup,” Sarma said, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to widely accepted historical narratives, Ismail Siddique, popularly known as Bagh Hazarika, was a 17th-century Ahom warrior who fought alongside Lachit Borphukan against the Mughals.
Siddique is believed to have been born into an Assamese Muslim family in Dhekerigaon village near Garhgaon in present-day Sivasagar district.
Reiterating the government’s position, Sarma said, “We have decided to rewrite history for high schools, and I have conveyed this to Education Minister Ranoj Pegu.”
The Assam government’s move to rewrite history textbooks contrasts with the views of noted historian Romila Thapar, who recently cautioned against the removal or selective alteration of historical periods in school curricula.
Speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) 2026 recently, Thapar warned that history cannot be taught in isolation or fragments.
“History is a continuous process. It is an evolution of people and cultures, of ways of behaviour and thinking. That continuity cannot be broken by arbitrarily removing dynasties or periods,” she said.
Thapar further argued that eliminating entire eras, such as the Mughal period, distorts students’ understanding of how societies evolve and interact.
“Throwing out the Mughals or any other dynasty breaks history into fragments. It makes no intellectual sense,” Thapar asserted.
With inputs from news agency