The class 12th students in Uttar Pradesh Board schools following the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research & Training) syllabus will no longer learn Mughal history. The move followed the NCERTs elimination of some Mughal empire-related chapters from the History syllabus. According to UP Board authorities, the state government has decided to begin implementing the amended syllabus beginning with the next academic year.The removed chapters and sections from the textbooksThe deleted chapters are from the book Themes of Indian History-Part II and are titled Kings and Chronicles the Mughal Courts (C. 16th and 17th centuries). According to a Jagran Josh article, chapters such as Central Islamic Areas, Cultural Conflict, and The Industrial Revolution have been eliminated from the Class 11 syllabus. Aside from that, chapters such as “Rise of Popular Movements” and “Period of One-Party Dominance” have been omitted from the Class 12 civics textbook of Politics in India Since Independence. Furthermore, sections such as Democracy and diversity, Popular struggles and movement, and Challenges to democracy have been omitted from the 10th class Democratic Politics-II books.NCERT has also omitted some passages from Class 12 Political Science Textbooks relating to the then-brief governments ban on RSS following Mahatma Gandhis killing. Paragraphs on Gandhis drive for Hindu-Muslim harmony that angered Hindu radicals have also been removed.NCERT director on the controversyNCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani emphasised on Tuesday that parts of the Mughals had not been removed from CBSE textbooks, calling the claim “false.” “Its a sham. The chapters on the Mughals have not been removed. Last year, there was a rationalisation procedure since COVID put pressure on students nationwide,” according to the NCERT director. The NCERT director went on to say that expert committees reviewed the texts from grades 6 to 12. “They advised that dropping this chapter would have no effect on the students knowledge and would relieve them of an unneeded load. The argument has no value. Those who are unsure can consult the textbooks,” Saklani explained.“We are working in accordance with the NEP (National Education Policy) 2020. This is a period of change. NEP 2020 emphasises lowering the content burden. We are putting it into action. The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for school education is being developed and will be completed soon. According to the NEP, the updated school books will be printed in 2024. We havent removed anything yet,” the NCERT director highlighted.Leaders responding to the textbook alterationAvinash Pandey, the Congress national secretary responsible for Jharkhand, argued that the choice to eliminate sections on Mughal courts from NCERT textbooks is part of an attempt to completely rewrite the nations history. Pandey lashed out at the Centre, claiming that democracy in the country is in danger. Kapil Sibal, a Rajya Sabha Member, has criticised the government, stating that, in accordance with PM Modis India, contemporary Indian history should begin in 2014. On the other hand, leaders of the Samajwadi Party stated that removing the chapters on the Mughal emperors would not change history.BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) officials applauded the change of the textbook, claiming that leftist and Congress-leaning academics had “biassed” the countrys history and that it was necessary to correct it. “We are merely correcting history. It is critical that the children learn the facts,” UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said to reporters on Monday.
