Delhi University drops Delhi Sultanate paper from revised MA history syllabus

Delhi University has revised its postgraduate History syllabus for 2026-27, dropping the Delhi Sultanate paper and several other proposed courses. The changes will shape third-semester options from July 2026 as the university aligns the programme with the new national framework.

In Short

• Revised curriculum for the 2026-27 session will take effect from July 2026
• University issued the notification announcing the syllabus changes on August 7
• Only 16 of 38 proposed elective papers entered the final list

Delhi University has revised its postgraduate History syllabus, removing the paper ‘The Delhi Sultanate: Structures of Authority in Medieval North India (13th–14th Century)’ from the third semester.

The revised curriculum will come into effect from July 2026 and has been prepared in line with the Postgraduate Curriculum Framework 2024 and the National Education Policy 2020.

The removed paper focused on how political authority and governance were structured in North India during the Delhi Sultanate. It also covered state formation and the political, religious and cultural developments of the 13th and 14th centuries.

The university issued the notification for the revised syllabus on August 7.

MORE THAN ONE PAPER DROPPED

The Delhi Sultanate paper is not the only course missing from the final third-semester syllabus.

‘History of North India, c. 1400–1550’ has also been excluded. Several other courses originally proposed by the Department of History have not made it into the final curriculum.

These include ‘Gender and Women in Early India: 1500 BCE to 1000 CE’, ‘Political Processes and Structure of Polities in Ancient India’ and ‘Religion and Society in Ancient Indian Literature’.

The department had initially proposed 38 Discipline Specific Elective papers. Of these, 16 have been included in the final third-semester syllabus.

WHY THE CHANGE MATTERS

The removal of the Delhi Sultanate paper does not mean the period has disappeared from Delhi University's History curriculum altogether.

The postgraduate paper was designed differently from the Delhi Sultanate course taught at the undergraduate level. At the postgraduate stage, it placed greater emphasis on structures of power, governance and different historiographical perspectives.

The undergraduate course, meanwhile, provides a broader study of the period. Some of the proposed courses are still under discussion, meaning further changes to the curriculum cannot be ruled out.

For students entering the postgraduate History programme from July 2026, the revised list will determine the papers available to them in the third semester.

The changes also show how the university is reshaping its postgraduate curriculum under the newer national education framework, while deciding which proposed courses ultimately make it into the classroom.

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