CBSE cuts Islamic empires, Cold War from board syllabi

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has removed chapters dealing with the rise of Islamic empires in Afro-Asian regions, chronicles of Mughal courts, the Cold War and the industrial revolution from the History and Political Science syllabi of classes 11 and 12, a section of teachers has said.

The board has also officially declared that it will conduct only one board examination for the 2022-23 batch, which will be held at the end of the academic session. In the ongoing session, CBSE opted for a two-exam process as a one-time measure in view of the pandemic.

CBSE, which released the syllabus for the 2022-23 session on Thursday, has rationalised the coursework for students of classes 9 to 12 by around 30% to reduce their burden.

While the board has maintained that its rationalisation of the syllabus is in alignment with recommendations by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), teachers have raised concerns over removal of certain chapters from the syllabi.

One of the chapters missing from the Class 11 History syllabus, titled ‘Central Islamic Lands’, deals with the rise of Islamic empires in the AfroAsian territories and its implications for economy and society, according to the CBSE website. The chapter focuses on arenas of Islam in reference to its emergence, the rise of the caliphate and empire building. A chapter on the industrial revolution is also missing from the syllabus.

In the Class 12 History syllabus, a chapter titled ‘The Mughal Court: Reconstructing Histories through Chronicles’ has been removed. According to the the CBSE website, the chapter examined the chronicles of Mughal courts to reconstruct their social, religious and cultural history.

Similarly, in Class 12 Political

Science syllabus, chapters on the Cold War Era and the Non– aligned Movement, along with those dealing with social and new social movements in India, have been removed.

To be sure, these chapters are still in History and Political Science textbooks currently in circulation in the market. NCERT is also rationalising the syllabus after which new books will be published.

A History teacher at a government school in Rohini, who did not wish to be named, said, “In a secular country like ours, it is very important to have in-depth knowledge of different religions. The chapter ‘Central Islamic Lands’ was a detailed study about Islam — from its origins till now. Similarly, the chapter dealing with the Mughal courts was the heart of medieval history in the class 12 syllabus. Removing these two topics is completely irrational.”

Kanu Sharma, a History teacher at The Indian School, said many topics in the chapters which have been excluded are relevant in present times as well.

“In fact, in the Mughal courts chapter, there was a mention of transgender persons as well...Instead of that they have included a chapter on economic and revenue policies of the Mughal empire, which would not interest students that much,” she said.

A political science teacher at a private school in Delhi, requesting anonymity, said, “The chapter dealing with the Cold War was the base for chapter 2 (‘The End of Bipolarity’), which deals with the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union)... We cannot teach the second chapter without skipping the Cold War.”

When contacted, CBSE officials said due process was followed while rationalising the syllabi. “Teams of experts have worked on it. We will soon release a detailed statement on how the board has rationalised the syllabus,” said an official, requesting anonymity.