A group of prominent Indian historians has spoken out against the removal of Mughal history from school textbooks, calling the curricular changes a distortion of the country's past. Cultural historian V. Sriram described the omission as "a great pity," arguing that the Mughal Empire (which ruled much of the Indian subcontinent from the early 16th to the mid-19th century) left one of the best-documented legacies in Indian history and continues to shape the country's cultural landscape. In response, historians including Naman Ahuja, Sohail Hashmi, and Sriram have recommended a list of eight books on Mughal history, urging younger readers to engage with the subject independently of what is taught in classrooms.