Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Delhi University drops Delhi Sultanate paper from MA History syllabus
Delhi University is a big university in India.
It teaches students who study history after college.
The university changed which history classes will be taught.
Some classes, like one about old rulers called the Delhi Sultanate, were removed.
Classes about women in ancient India and old Indian kingdoms were also removed.
Many historians are unhappy about this change.
A historian named Maya John said the experts who make the classes should have the final say.
She said the university's new oversight committee should not drop whole courses.
The university says it is updating its study plan for postgraduate students.
Some people worry that important parts of history may no longer be taught.
Delhi University removed several Discipline Specific Elective (DSE) papers from the third semester of its MA History programme.
The dropped courses include 'The Delhi Sultanate: Structures of Authority in Medieval North India (13th-14th Centuries)'.
Other removed papers cover gender and women in early India, religion and society in ancient Indian literature, ancient Indian polities, and North Indian history c. 1400-1550.
Of the 35 DSE papers proposed by the History Department, only 16 were included in the syllabus notified on August 7.
Historian and DU Academic Council member Maya John said the removals infringe the autonomy of the department's Committee of Courses.
- Who
- Delhi University and its History Department, along with historian and Academic Council member Maya John, who criticised the decision.
- What
- Several MA History elective papers, including a course on the Delhi Sultanate, were dropped from the Semester III syllabus.
- When
- The newly notified syllabus was issued by the university on August 7, following an Academic Council meeting in July.
- Where
- Delhi University, New Delhi, India.
- Why
- The university is implementing its revised postgraduate framework, while critics say the removals infringe the autonomy of the department's Committee of Courses.
Critics of the removals
University administration
Department autonomy
Critics of the removals
Removing the papers infringes the autonomy of the department's Committee of Courses, which comprises academics with expertise in framing the curriculum.
University administration
The university is implementing its revised postgraduate framework and used oversight committees to oversee syllabi framed by academics.
Constitution of oversight bodies
Critics of the removals
Oversight or 'expert' committees should be formed through the university's statutory mechanisms, including the Academic Council, if required.
University administration
The revised postgraduate curriculum process, including the notification issued on August 7, was followed and cleared previously through the syllabus approval process.
Scope of syllabus review
Critics of the removals
An oversight mechanism should only examine whether a syllabus conforms to the Postgraduate Curriculum Framework, not recommend dropping entire established courses.
University administration
The syllabus had been pending for months, and the review process led to 16 of 35 proposed papers being included in the final Semester III notification.
- Institution
- Delhi University (DU)
- Programme affected
- MA History (two-year and one-year PG programmes)
- Syllabus notification date
- August 7
- DSE papers proposed
- 35
- DSE papers included
- 16
- Example removed course
- The Delhi Sultanate: Structures of Authority in Medieval North India (13th-14th Centuries)
- Lead critic
- Maya John, historian and DU Academic Council member