Nehru’s Policies & Ayodhya Dispute ‘Disappear’ From Class XII Syllabus In This State

Guwahati: The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) has dropped topics on the policies of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, anti-Sikh riots, Ayodhya dispute, empowerment of women and minority rights from the Class XII syllabus for the 2020-21 session.

The step was taken as part of the 30 per cent reduction of the syllabus to minimize the academic load on students during the pandemic.

In a notification, AHSCE Secretary Manoranjan Kakati said, “The main objective is to reduce the exam stress of the students for the session 2020-21 due to this pandemic situation and to prevent learning gaps. This syllabus is only the reduced portion for the preparation of upcoming final exams of HS 1st and 2nd years to be held in 2021.”

Nehru’s policies on nation-building, his foreign policy, political succession after Nehru, politics of ‘Garibi Hatao’ (slogan of Indira Gandhi’s 1971 election campaign), and the first three general elections have been removed from Political Science.

The implementation of the Mandal Commission report, the Punjab crisis and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the Ayodhya dispute, Gujarat riots, and the suspension of five-year plans have also been removed.

The dropped out syllabus also includes India and the Cold War, dominance and challenge to the US in economy and ideology, the rise of China as an economic power in the post-Mao Zedong era, conflicts and efforts for peace in South Asia, politics of disarmament, consequences of globalization and anti-globalization movements.

The salient features of the National Policy of Education 1986 and sections on the empowerment of women have been removed from the syllabus of Class XII.

There are also several removals of topics in the Sociology and History syllabus. ‘Swadesh Adhyayan’, a subject introduced in 2018, has also been reduced. Under this subject, topics pertaining to religious and linguistic demography, population explosion in Assam and the foreigners’ have been removed.