A large number of social activists and academicians, including historians, have sharply reacted to the removal of two chapters related to the Mughal Empire in NCERT textbook for class 12.

The NCERT revised the history syllabus and dropped a chapters on “Kings and Chronicles” and “The Mughal Courts” (16th and 17th centuries) from the CBSE medieval history textbook – “Themes of Indian Hitory” – for class 12.

Former director of the Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library, Patna Prof Imtiaz Ahmad said, “The reported changes in the textbooks for class 12 made by the NCERT are disappointing and unfortunate”.

Ahmad, who is also a former professor of history, Patna University, categorically said, “History cannot be studied in a selective manner by leaving major gaps in the chronology. Such an approach fails to take into account the evolution of institutions and policies in a holistic manner,” he told The Statesman.

Former head of department of history LN Mithila University, Darbhanga Prof Ratneshwar Mishra said, “History cannot be customised to suit the ethics of today rather than to the day when in fact it took place. History has been a work of objective scholarship with the support of narratives based on evidence instead of entertaining into the services of the ruling establishment.”

According to Prof Mishra, this is not to suggest what’s right or what’s wrong of the issue, but just to highlight the fact that whatever is being changed or modified will also be part of the history.

Prof Ashok Anshuman, who teaches history in LS College Muzaffarpur, echoed similar views. He called it an absurd decision which should immediately be reviewed.

Talking about Mughal rulers, he said apart from being a political dynasty, it’s a cultural heritage. History, according to him, cannot be taught in bits and pieces. It is being taught in continuity with different stages of civilisations, he added. “I don’t see any valid reason to revise its curriculum by dropping two chapters,” he contended.

Former professor and head of the department of history, Patna University Prof Kameshwar Prasad said it should not be done in this way. “If they wanted to remove some chapters, they should have discussed it among subject experts before taking a final decision,” he said.

The teaching of modern history would now be completely disoriented and difficult to grasp for the students, he pointed out.

The professor and head of the department of ancient Indian history and archeology, Vishwa Bharati University, Shantiniketan, West Bengal Prof Anil Kumar asked, “How can we ignore 500 years of history from our textbooks, and more importantly, the policies of ‘Sulah-e-Kul’.”

He further said “I completely disagree with the idea of excluding Mughal history from the textbook. It’s a matter of interpretation.”

“If someone disagrees with the policies of any dynasty, he/she can come out with alternative narratives,” Kumar told SNS.

Some cultural and activist groups also criticised the NCERT’s removal of two chapters – “American Hegemony in world” and “The Cold War Era” – from the civics textbook for class 12.

Similarly, two chapters – “Rise of Popular movement and “Era of one party Dominance” – from the class 12 textbook “Indian Politics after Independence” have also been removed.