if Needed, Will Remove Mughal Chapters From Class 12 Syllabus’

Amidst the ongoing controversy over the Mughal Empire chapters in Indian history textbooks, the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) has announced its willingness to make necessary changes to the Class 12 syllabus if required.

By Jitendra Jangid Apr 8, 2023, 13:19 IST

Amid the controversy over chapters of the Mughal Empire, the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) has said it will make necessary changes in the class 12 syllabus if the need arises. Speaking on this, AHSEC secretary Pulak Patgiri said," ‘If needed, will remove Mughal chapters from Class 12 syllabus in Assam. If the NCERT textbook removes Mughals, we may not continue teaching the same chapters on them." It must be mentioned that new textbooks have lessons on Mughal Empire in hands of students already. The textbooks, with chapters on Mughals, have already been distributed among the students of Class 12, as the academic session started on April 1 in the state. However, the education minister of the state, Ranoj Pegu, refrained to comment anything on that. Also read| ‘Oversight’, ‘Should Not Be Blown Out of Proportion’: NCERT Chief on Removal of Text on Gandhi Earlier, there were reports that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has decided to erase certain chapters on the Mughal Empire from class 12 history textbooks which attracted severe criticism. However, NCERT later clarified that chapters on the Mughals have not been removed. Director of NCERT, Dinesh Prasad Saklani said there was a rationalisation process last year due to Covid-19. “It’s a lie. (Chapters on) The Mughals have not been dropped. There was a rationalisation process last year because due to COVID, there was pressure on students everywhere…Expert committees examined the books from classes 6-12. They recommended that if this chapter is dropped, it won’t affect the knowledge of the children and an unnecessary burden can be removed…The debate is unnecessary. Those who don’t know can check the textbooks," he said. In its revised syllabus for history textbooks of Class 12, the NCERT dropped some chapters on the Mughal empire. From the Class 12 History book - ‘Themes of Indian History-Part II,’ chapters related to ‘Kings and Chronicles; the Mughal Courts (C. 16th and 17th centuries)’ have been removed. “This debate is unnecessary as of now. For three months last year, we gave detailed explanations of this. It was accepted by all. This controversy is not required,” said Saklani. “There was a standard procedure. It was a critical assessment of the experts. It’s not about my opinion. Whatever opinion was given by experts must be adhered to.” Speaking specifically on the chapter on Mughal era courts being dropped from the syllabus, the NCERT director said, “There were two chapters on this subject of 16th and 17th century Mughals. The larger chapter, which is more inclusive, has been kept and that was also the recommendation of the expert committee.” Saklani further added that the said chapters were not brought back because new textbooks were under process.

Amidst the ongoing controversy over the Mughal Empire chapters in Indian history textbooks, the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) has announced its willingness to make necessary changes to the Class 12 syllabus if required. The AHSEC Secretary, Pulak Patgiri, stated that if the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) removes the Mughal chapters from their textbook, then the same chapters may not be taught in Assam. It should be noted that the new textbooks, containing chapters on the Mughal Empire, have already been distributed to students in Class 12 as the academic session began on April 1 in the state. However, the Education Minister of Assam, Ranoj Pegu, has refrained from commenting on the matter.

Earlier, there were reports that the NCERT had decided to remove certain chapters related to the Mughal Empire from Class 12 history textbooks, which received severe criticism. However, the Director of NCERT, Dinesh Prasad Saklani, clarified that no chapters on the Mughals had been removed. He stated that a rationalization process had taken place last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Expert committees examined the books from classes 6-12, and they recommended that if certain chapters were dropped, it would not affect the children's knowledge and would remove unnecessary burden. The NCERT revised the syllabus for history textbooks of Class 12 and dropped some chapters related to the Mughal empire. The chapters related to 'Kings and Chronicles; the Mughal Courts (C. 16th and 17th centuries)' have been removed from the Class 12 History book - 'Themes of Indian History-Part II.'

The NCERT Director clarified that the larger and more inclusive chapter related to the Mughal era courts has been retained, and that was also the recommendation of the expert committee. Saklani further added that the removed chapters were not brought back because new textbooks were under process. He stated that the debate over the matter was unnecessary, and the rationalization process was a standard procedure that was critically assessed by experts.

if Needed, Will Remove Mughal Chapters From Class 12 Syllabus’

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