India, Oct. 1 -- Temples served as sources of political legitimacy and functioned as major economic institutions between 1000 and 1700 CE, besides playing important social, educational and cultural roles, according to a new Class 9 social science textbook prepared by the NCERT.

Titled Understanding Society India and Beyond-Part 2, the textbook was released on Tuesday, six months after the start of the new academic session. Its first part was released in June.

A chapter titled "Resistance and Resilience (1000-1700 CE)" contains a section, "Temples: The Resilience of Sacred Sites", which examines the role of temples in the socio-economic and political life of the period.

The chapter says the idea of resistance extends beyond battles and ...