DU drops Delhi Sultanate, several MA History electives from semester III syllabus

Delhi University’s decision to remove several discipline specific elective (DSE) papers from semester III of the Masters of Arts, MA History programme has sparked criticism. The newly notified syllabus excludes “The Delhi Sultanate: Structures of Authority in Medieval North India (13th-14th Centuries),” which examines the political and administrative structures of the Delhi Sultanate and changes in medieval India’s social, religious and cultural life.

PTI reports that many other papers on different periods of Indian history have also been dropped, including “Gender and Women in Early India: 1500 BCE to 1000 CE”, “Religion and Society in Ancient Indian Literature”, “Political Processes and Structure of Polities in Ancient India” and “History of North India, c. 1400-1550”.

The changes affect students enrolled in both two as well as one-year postgraduate (PG) programmes. Under the revised structure, semester III of the two-year programme corresponds to semester I for students enrolled in one-year PG programme.

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Syllabus approval process

According to official documents seen by PTI, the papers passed the syllabus approval process earlier but were not included in the final notification issued by the university on August 7. Of the 35 DSE papers proposed by the History Department and discussed at the Academic Council meeting in July, 16 were included in the semester III syllabus.

The removal of the papers has drawn criticism from historian and Delhi University Academic Council member Maya John, who said it infringed on the autonomy of the department’s Committee of Courses, comprising academics responsible for curriculum development.

John also questioned the constitution of an “expert” or “oversight committee”, arguing that such a body should be formed through the university’s statutory mechanisms, including the Academic Council, if required.

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“The syllabus had been pending for months, which gave an indication that there would be trouble. The autonomy of departments has been taken over as oversight committees are being formed to oversee the syllabi framed by experts,” John said.

While an oversight mechanism should assess whether a syllabus complies with the postgraduate curriculum framework (PGCF), the committee in this case recommended removing entire papers. The revision comes at a time when Delhi University is implementing its new PG framework, with semester III marking an important transition for students under two and one-year PG structures.

(With PTI inputs)