New Delhi, 28 April 2022: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s (JIH) central education board has demanded rollback of CBSE syllabus 2022-23 and restoration of omitted chapters and contents. JIH Markazi Taleemi Board (central education board) is a Non governmental organization committed to making education inclusive, accessible and of high quality.

In a media statement, JIH Markazi Taleemi Board Chairman Mr. Mujtaba Farooq informed that he wrote a letter to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), demanding the same. He said, “the recently updated syllabus of CBSE for secondary education (Class 9 and 10) and senior secondary education (class 11 and 12) in the Curriculum for the Academic Year 2022-23 which have been uploaded on the official website of CBSE indicates that the CBSE has removed various important chapters and contents from the text books of History, Political Science and other social sciences. The removed list includes chapters about Democracy, Diversity, Social Movements, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Cold War era, the rise of Islamic empires in Afro-Asian territories, the chronicles of Mughal courts and the Industrial Revolution from the History and Political Science syllabi of classes 11 and 12″.

Appreciating the detailing and quality in the textbooks of NCERT, Mr.Farooq maintained that they are comprehensive and wide-ranging surpassing the textbooks of state syllabus, which include minute details of all the periods of history and all the places of the world. He said, “removal of the above-mentioned chapters not only make students disconnected from the events which CBSE wishes to impart in the proposed syllabus of 2022-23 but it is also in bad academic taste. History and social facts are part of our current and past society. Economic, Social and Political changes that happened not only impacted the world but our country as well. Erasing or denying a part of global history or a country’s history is depriving a student from the knowledge related to that particular part or era of history”.

The Markazi Taleemi Board, Chairman cited examples saying: “For instance, the role of Non Alignment Movement in the chapter related the Cold War era helps in understanding the current geopolitical situation for students. Similarly, the chapter related to Central Islamic Lands and empire making is important to understand Europe, the Far East and Asia Minor. The reference to Avicenna, Averroes and use of Arabic translations of Greek philosophy by the Europeans philosophers and the role of these philosophies in the making of modern Europe in the History NCERT text book of Class 11 shows how every historical fact is interconnected. The reference to the Silk Route is vital; since it connected not only Europe to South Asia and China but to the Central Islamic Lands and Asia Minor as well. The exclusion of such content is like breaking the chain of knowledge. The removal of chapters related to democracy and diversity, popular struggles and movements and challenges to democracy from the subject ‘Democratic Politics’ of class 10 will be a disservice to the purpose of that subject. Indian Democracy is based on the constitutional morality which talks about freedom, justice, equality, equality, and diversity. If the chapters related to these values will be removed from the subject “Democratic Politics” then how will CBSE justify the name of that particular subject? Instead of removing the chapters related to the Democracy and social movement but also included those chapters by updating them with the socio-political movements of recent past.”

Demanding a rollback, Mr Farooq averred that previous education policies of the country and National Curricular Frameworks were based on the inculcation of critical thinking, scientific temper, and knowledge about the other regions, religions, cultures and nations and different eras. He cautioned that the removal of the above mentioned chapters not only harms the purpose of the particular subjects and textbooks from which the chapters were removed in the CBSE syllabus but also would be a great disservice to the idea of education evolved by the founders of the nation and the constitution.

Therefore, the Markazi Taleemi Board demands a rollback of the changes made to the syllabus from the Curriculum for the Academic Year 2022-23 and restore the omitted chapters and sections of political science, history and other social sciences in order to uphold the academic thirst of the student community.