National Identity and the History Curriculum

Abstract

This chapter explores the ways India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh use their shared history to construct a national identity and promote social cohesion within their respective countries. The history curriculum in each country has undergone revisions with a change in government in support of specific political ideologies. The relationship of religion to national identity remains fluid but central in each case. With some exceptions, the nation in each country context is discursively constituted as seamlessly similar internally by invoking specific identity markers. This draws boundaries against the external ``other'' but also excludes internal ``others'' who become ``illegitimate'' citizens. The implications of the history curriculum on social cohesion and cross-border relations are discussed.