Central Idea

• The controversy over the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) reducing the content on Mughal history in the school curriculum has sparked a heated debate in the country. While some argue that this move is part of a larger agenda to erase the Mughal legacy, others believe that it is a necessary step towards reducing the burden on students and providing a more balanced approach to teaching Indian history.

NCERT’s changes

• The NCERT removed overlapping material from grades 6 to 12 to reduce the burden on students.
• Grade 12 has been designed around themes in Indian history. It is divided into three parts spanning over 2,000 years. One theme out of 12 focuses on Kings and Chronicles. It revolves around the significant policies that redefined the landscape and mindset of the people. Akbar’s policies feature in this theme in the rationalized syllabus as well.
• This is over and above the extensive coverage they get in the middle school curricula, at the cost of the exclusion of the rest. Mughals have been overrepresented in Indian history books and were an obvious area for right-sizing.

What NCERT has said on omitting chapters?

• Part of rationalisation process: According to NCERT director, Chapters on Mughals have not been dropped. There was a rationalisation process last year because due to COVID, there was pressure on students everywhere.
• Reducing the burden without affecting the knowledge: The expert committees examined the books from standards 6-12. They recommended that if some sections or this chapter is dropped, it won’t affect the knowledge of the children and an unnecessary burden can be removed.
• Transition towards National Education Policy (NEP): NCERT working as per NEP, 2020. This is a transition phase. NEP 2020 speaks of reducing the content load. NCF (National Curriculum Framework) for school education is being formed, it will be finalised soon. Textbooks will be printed in 2024 as per NEP.

Need for a balanced approach

• Purpose of studying Indian history: The purpose of studying Indian history should be to understand who we are and how we got here, by understanding the demography, culture, and practices of the various components of India over the last two-and-a-half millennia.
• Dive deep into all polities: This requires us to dive deep into all polities that have resided in the subcontinental region for significant periods.
• Mughal history is just one part: Mughal history is just one part of just one period (medieval) of Indian history, and there is a lot more to our history that needs attention.

Need for a more comprehensive approach

• Rich and long history: Indian history is too rich, long, and unwieldy for any curriculum to do justice.
• Children needs to have broader understanding: In the age of Wikipedia, we need to expose our children to the broad themes and grand sweep of history, create an understanding of their origins, and equip them with the tools and curiosity to read and research further as they grow.
• Step is in good direction: The current reorganization is a good step in that direction.

Conclusion

• The real debate should be how to teach 2,500 years of Indian history to children in an engaging and informative manner. Those quibbling over the current rearrangement lack both a perspective on the scale of Indian history and an understanding of the complexities of teaching it. They would be better served by picking up a few history books themselves.

Mains Question

Q. The national education policy speaks of reducing the content load and ensure the understanding in this light discuss the significance of teaching history of India in more rational and comprehensive manner.

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