Mughal, Western history dropped from syllabus by Maharashtra Board

Now, students of schools under the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education will study extensively about the Maratha empire with warrior king Shivaji in the forefront and his generals. The textbooks for Class VII and IX will not contain detailed chapters regarding Mughal rulers and Western history, which includes the French Revolution, Greek philosophy, American War of Independence and others in detail. These topics will be relegated to only a few lines and won't be discussed at length.

The decision has been taken the state education department and members of the History Subject Committee, who term Western and Mughal history as irrelevant.

According to The Indian Express, the revised textbooks will revolve around the Maratha king Shivaji and his generals along with Indian politics post-1960.

The revised syllabus has focused extensively on Shivaji, his family members and the role played by his generals as part of medieval Indian history. Previously history textbooks had chapters of Mughal emperors and their contributions. The revised textbook has lessons elaborating the 27-year-old struggle of the Marathas against Aurangzeb.

The old textbook had a chapter titled 'A People's King' on Shivaji, while in the new one the title's name is changed to 'An Ideal King.' The new textbook even has an elaborate sub-topic on the Sant movement and the Warkaris.

Events impacting Indian politics from the 1960s and 2000 have been included in the Class IX textbook. Omitting events that impacted the events, significant events pertaining to economic situations, women empowerment in India post-1960s have been highlighted. Similar changes are being thought for Class X syllabus.

The members of the History Subject Committee say that the decision to revise the syllabus is not political.

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