A controversy has erupted over the portrayal of Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha empire in an NCERT Class 8 social science textbook, with members of several erstwhile royal families and politicians decrying the depiction as historically inaccurate, while expert historians from Maharashtra insist the representation is grounded in credible documentary evidence, according to a TOI report.
The latest uproar began after Chaitanya Raj Singh, head of the former Jaisalmer royal family, publicly criticised the map included in the ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’ textbook. Taking to X, he urged Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to act swiftly to “correct” what he termed “erroneous, malicious and agenda-driven content.”
Singh’s intervention follows a similar objection by Bhupesh Singh, scion of Bundi’s ex-royal family. “In the context of the Jaisalmer princely state, no authentic historical sources mention any Maratha dominance, invasion, taxation, or authority. Our royal records clearly state the Marathas never had any interference in the Jaisalmer princely state,” Bhupesh Singh pointedly stated on X.
As per TOI, political leaders have also joined the fray. Rajsamand member of parliament Mahima Kumari Mewar (BJP), her MLA husband VS Mewar - both descended from Maharana Pratap - along with Congress’s former Union minister Jitendra Singh (of Alwar’s royal lineage), have all contested what they describe as the persistent misrepresentation of Rajputana’s history in government textbooks. “First misrepresented as being under British, now as under Marathas –– who is going to educate the educationists in NCERT?! Are they capable of presenting the factual history of India; seriously doubt it,” Kumari wrote on X.
Responding robustly to the criticism, historians from Pune and Kolhapur have asserted, according to TOI, that the map’s depiction is historically justified. Pandurang Balkawade, a respected historian, emphasised the existence of pacts and records signifying Maratha ascendancy over regions marked on the NCERT map. He specifically referenced Maratha governance in tributary states and illustrated the Maratha Empire’s expanse, from Peshawar in the north to Cuttack in the east, as indicative of their influence over Rajput territories.
Although Jaisalmer is not named individually, Balkawade explained that the visual expanse on the NCERT map encompassed much of present-day Rajasthan, as per historical boundaries. He pointed to the 1752 ‘Ahadnama’, a formal agreement between Mughal emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur and Maratha leaders Malharrao Holkar and Mahadji Shinde, acting on behalf of Peshwa Nanasaheb. According to Balkawade, this pact entailed Maratha responsibility to defend the Mughal emperor “from internal enemies like Pathans, Rajputs or other rebels and external foes like Abdali,” for which they received a payment of Rs 50 lakh.
Indrajit Sawant, a Kolhapur-based historian, further contended that while Marathas did not exert direct daily control over the Rajput states, these principalities came under the effective influence and taxation of the Maratha regime. “Rajputana came under influence of the Marathas after Marathas started domination over the Mughal Badshah. Marathas used to run the Mughal empire and the Rajput states came under it. The Rajputs were jagirdars of the Mughals. They were made to mandatorily pay taxes. Though the Marathas didn't have day-to-day control over the Rajput states, there were deployments to ensure the terms were followed,” Sawant was cited by TOI.
Records cited by Balkawade show regular chauth (tax) collection by the Marathas from areas such as Ajmer, with one document indicating Rs 13 lakh collected, and similar assessments in Delhi, Agra, Malwa and Odisha. After the Mughal emperor’s death, Shinde reportedly installed Shah Alam on the throne in 1771 and became deputy regent of the empire. Furthermore, Balkawade highlighted that the Marathas adjudicated succession disputes within the royal families of Jodhpur and Jaipur, underscoring their political authority in the region.
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