Hyderabad: Some 1,334 changes, additions, revisions have been made in 182 history text books for students of the SSC, CBSE and
ICSE Boards by the National Council of Educational Research and Training for the academic year 2019-20.
Indian history has been expanded with political and spiritual leaders being discussed at greater length than in existing text books.
Rajput, Maratha, and Mughal history and the fight for freedom from colonial rule will figure more prominently. Spiritual leaders such as Sri Aurobindo Ghose and Swami Vivekananda, saints of Maharashtra, Dnyaneshwar, Namdev and Tukaram, along with the Rishi order have been added. So has the Sufi movement that flourished in Kashmir in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Sunanda Lakshman, history facilitator of Oakridge International School, says, “It is very important for children to learn the history of our nation and how we have evolved. Adding more on Indian history is a welcome move. The inclusion of Rajput history is part of the medieval period and it is in tandem with the Mughal invasion of India. It goes side-by-side.”
Bhagat Singh was the only revolutionary freedom fighter mentioned, but now Chandra Shekhar Azad, Sukhdev, and Rajguru have been added.
Sunir Nagi, principal of Pallavi Model School's Alwal branch, and its history facilitator, says that students need to “study our glorious past as it invokes a sense of pride amongst us and will certainly inculcate the love towards the motherland.”
He adds that “there is substantial content existing in the middle school level. If we overload these students with too many details, the time for co-curricular activities will not be there. Activities and projects have been added to the history class which will have to be done by students. We have to work out a balance so that students can manage.”
Another history facilitator said on condition of anonymity, “Apart from ancient and medieval history, it is also very important that the civic section inculcates the programmes of cleanliness and social responsibility. Students need to learn the importance of these programmes and implement them. The detailed history syllabus will invoke nationalism, but will that suffice in these changing times?”
NCERT has collected feedback from history departments in schools across the country and state and made the changes, additions etc based on their recommendations.
