India Looks To Globally Unwrap Pakistan’s Textbooks Of Hate, Schools Breeding Intolerance – News18

Last Updated:May 16, 2025, 17:45 IST

A proposed multi-party delegation from India with the aim to expose Pakistan’s sustained sponsorship of terrorism before the world is likely to highlight the content of these books

Pakistan’s school textbooks for decades have served as quiet instruments of statecraft, designed not just to educate but to indoctrinate. Within their pages, history is weaponised, not remembered; facts are filtered, and enemies are named—chief among them, India.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its report states that Pakistan’s education system promotes religious intolerance, particularly against Hindus, Christians, and Ahmadis, by using biased and discriminatory content in school textbooks. It warns that such indoctrination fuels extremism and violence against religious minorities.

A proposed multi-party delegation from India pushing a unified, evidence-backed narrative on Pakistan’s sustained sponsorship of cross-border terrorism in front of the world following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor is expected to highlight the content of these books.

News18, for a series in 2023, accessed class 8 and 9 textbooks published by the National Book Foundation (Federal Textbook Board, Islamabad), which too found anti-India hatred being propagated among students.

A critical examination of these textbooks reveals a deeply entrenched narrative that often distorts historical facts, promotes a singular religious identity, and fosters a sense of antagonism towards India. This deliberate alteration of history serves to reinforce a particular ideological stance, often at the expense of a nuanced understanding of the past and the complex realities of the subcontinent.

The International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD) in its report, Teaching Intolerance in Pakistan: Religious Bias in Public School Textbooks, said, “Pakistan’s public school textbooks promote religious intolerance, glorify war and martyrdom, and depict religious minorities—especially Hindus and Christians—in negative and stereotypical ways.”

It pointed out:

Curriculum bias: The textbooks systematically portray Islam as the only correct religion, denigrate non-Muslims, and often conflate nationalism with religious identity.

Promotion of Jihad and Martyrdom: Textbooks glorify violent struggle in the name of Islam, encouraging a militant worldview.

Impact on students: This educational content fosters prejudice and intolerance in young minds, increasing susceptibility to extremist ideologies.

Policy and reform failures: Although some curriculum reform efforts were made, they were either minimal or rolled back due to political pressure from religious groups and bureaucratic inertia.

Recommendation: The report called for comprehensive textbook reform to promote tolerance, critical thinking, and inclusive narratives about religion and national identity.

The report emphasised that such a curriculum harms interfaith harmony, fuels extremism, and marginalises non-Muslim citizens, especially young Hindu and Christian students.

Some examples:

“The Islamic religion, culture and social system are different from non-Muslims; therefore, it is impossible for them to cooperate with Hindus.” — Grade 10, Urdu Textbook, Punjab Textbook Board

“There were two enemies of Muslims, the Englishmen and Hindus. Both of these were against the formation of Pakistan. On one hand, the Englishmen renounced the division plan of Hindustan, while on the other hand, Hindus were planning to occupy the entire Hindustan and enslave Muslims.” — Grade 7, Urdu Textbook, Sindh Textbook Board

“Whenever Hindu leadership got the chance they tried to suppress rights of Muslims, and destruct their culture, tradition and language.” — Grade 8, History Textbook, Punjab Textbook Board

“The influence of Christian pastors had increased immensely… They organized gatherings to describe the qualities of Christianity and degraded other religions.” — Grade 8, Social Studies, Sindh Textbook Board

“Upon the decision of the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews became happy. They tortured Jesus badly. Jesus was surrounded by a crowd of Jewish enemies.” — Grade 5, Islamic Studies, Baluchistan Textbook Board

The selective use of historical events and figures to promote a specific ideological agenda is a hallmark of propaganda. By underscoring certain aspects of the past while downplaying or ignoring others, Pakistani textbooks construct a narrative that serves the political and ideological goals of the state.

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