New Delhi. The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has removed the chapters related to Mughals and Delhi Sultanate from class 7 textbooks. Now their place has been replaced by more focus on Indian dynasties, holy geography, Mahakumbh and government schemes. This change has been made in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) and the National Curriculum Infrastructure (NCFSE) 2023. Its main objective is to promote Indian traditions, philosophy, education system and local references.
Discussion started during Kovid epidemic
According to NCERT officials, this change is part of the first part of the textbooks, while the second part will be released in the next few months. During the Kovid-19 epidemic, chapters based on the Mughals and the Delhi Sultanate were already reduced. Now, these subjects have been completely removed. Instead, special attention has been paid to ancient Indian dynasties like Magadha, Maurya, Sung and Satavahana in the social science book called ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’. Along with this, the cultural and religious stream of Indian history has been given prominence.
New books mention Holy Geography and Mahakumbh
A new chapter ‘Holy Geography’ has been added to the new textbooks, which describes the holy places and pilgrimage of India. This chapter mentions 12 Jyotirlinga, Char Dham Yatra and Shakti Peethas, which display Indian righteousness and cultural heritage. Along with this, the Mahakumbh Mela has also been mentioned, which was recently held in Prayagraj, in which about 660 million people attended. However, the incidents of stampede were not mentioned in this chapter, in which 30 pilgrims died.
Cover of government schemes also
The new textbooks have also mentioned the major schemes of the Indian government, such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and ‘Atal Tunnel’, which are shaping the developmental direction and future of the country. In addition, in a chapter, while referring to the Constitution of India, it is reported that in 2004 the Supreme Court included the right to hoist the national flag in the fundamental right of citizens.
However, some criticisms are also arising for this change, especially due to the accusation of ‘saffronisation’ in books.