From Marathas to Mughals, NCERT syllabus sees historical changes, key details
The current edition bypasses this and moves directly into the onset of British colonial dominance.The intervening decades, in which power shifted through a mosaic of Maratha, Afghan, and regional contests, no longer form part of the Class 8 narrative.DROPPED CHAPTERS AND TABLESThe pruning has not been confined to Class 8. In Class 7, a two-page tabular reference listing Mughal emperors and their key policies, once a concise aide-mmoire for students, has been dropped entirely.At the senior-secondary level, the Class 12 history textbook has seen the removal of 'Theme 9: Kings and Chronicles, The Mughal Courts,' a chapter that earlier offered archival and historiographical insights into imperial administration, court culture, and Persian chronicling traditions.According to the NCERT, these removals are part of a 'rationalisation' drive aimed at avoiding curriculum overload.Officials argue that Mughal history is still taught in other grades, specifically in Class 7 and in one remaining Class 12 chapter, and that the changes do not amount to erasure but to 'streamlining'.REGIONAL FIGURES AND THE ANGLO-MYSORE WARSAlso missing from the revised Class 8 volume are references to Tipu Sultan, Haidar Ali, and the Anglo-Mysore Wars. These episodes, once used to illustrate resistance to the East India Company in southern India, have been dropped.The omission was flagged in Parliament, where concerns were raised about regional histories being sidelined.The Union government's response was that states retain the discretion to include such content in their own regional supplements, allowing local events to be covered outside the NCERT's national framework.REFRAMING THE MUGHALSThe Mughal period that remains in the Class 8 textbook has been reframed. Babur is characterised as 'ruthless' in his conquests; Akbar's reign is described as an amalgam of political accommodation and coercion; Aurangzeb is noted for 'religious intolerance' alongside his military campaigns.A footnote labelled 'No-Blame' directs students to approach historical figures without moral condemnation, encouraging a focus on context over verdict.advertisementThis shift in tone is in line with the NEP's stated goal of fostering critical engagement rather than rote memorisation.The chronological sweep has been traded for thematic clusters, students are encouraged to interrogate cause-and-effect relationships, the interplay of politics and culture, and the contingencies of historical change.POLICY CONTEXT AND PUSHBACKThe NCERT maintains that the changes were made after consultations and in line with the NCF-SE's emphasis on reducing content load, integrating overlapping material, and aligning school history with broader curricular reforms.The exercise has been described internally as 'rationalisation', a term familiar in newsroom copy as shorthand for pruning without prejudice.Critics, however, see the deletions as a loss of historical texture. When particular rulers or episodes vanish from the syllabus, they argue, students are deprived of the full arc of India's composite history.In the editorial shorthand of the trade, it's the 'missing middle' problem, where the leap from Mughal rule to colonial dominance leaves out transitional decades that shaped both.The debate is unlikely to conclude soon. On one side are curriculum designers arguing for lighter, sharper, and more thematic syllabi; on the other, historians and educators warning against selective omission. Both claim to act in the interest of learners.advertisementFor now, the Class 8 history textbook stands as an example of the NEP's direction: tighter syllabi, sharper thematic focus, and a recalibration of historical emphasis.Whether this becomes a model for other subjects or remains a contested experiment will depend on how classrooms respond, and how public debate shapes the next round of revisions.- Ends
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On the other side of the Sangam, there is a famous Hanuman temple. It is perhaps the only temple in the world in which the idol of Hanuman is in a reclining position. The idol is 20 feet long and about 8 to 10 feet below the surface. The idol gets partially submerged every monsoon and is completely inundated during the floods. Legend describes the inundation of the idol as 'the bathing of Hanuman by the holy Ganga'. Hence, devotees consider it as auspicious. They assemble there on the first day the water enters the temple and welcome it with chants. However, when the temple is completely submerged and is inoperative, a smaller idol of Hanuman is placed at a safer place for daily prayers. Perhaps, for this reason, the authorities have never planned any fortification of the temple to protect it from floods, though it was renovated before the Mahakumbh early this year. 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The religious city of Chitrakoot is facing a flood-like situation with the Mandakini river damaging several temples on its banks. Similarly, several temples on the banks of Yamuna in Mathura get impacted by floods. The government is also working on the Mathura corridor project on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath corridor. In all, the plan is to develop about 12 spiritual circuits in the state as religious tourism is the latest money-spinner after the Kashi corridor, Ayodhya and Mahakumbh fetched the state millions. What the environmentalists are saying But, is anybody listening to the environmentalists who had raised concern over the pollution of the Ganga-Yamuna after millions arrived at Kumbh and left filth on the banks. The Mela area is beyond recognition today as the Ganga and the Yamuna have inundated a large expanse of the area, submerging the temporary and semi- temporary structures that were raised there for the Mahakumbh. 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