Chandigarh, Sept. 13 -- Panjab University's (PU) department of history has decided to restore the earlier Punjab and Sikh history papers in the two-year MA history programme after student organisations objected to their reduced presence in the revised syllabus. The department said the revised curriculum was initially designed keeping in view the National Education Policy's (NEP) four-year BA plus one-year MA (4+1) structure, under which the fourth-year BA was intended to be an advanced year of study. The fourth-year BA and first-year MA syllabus will now be separated, while students pursuing the conventional two-year MA will continue with the earlier syllabus. Various student organisations had submitted a memorandum to the vice-chancellor (V-C) and chairperson of the department of history, seeking restoration of the Punjab and Sikh history topics taught under the earlier syllabus. A comparison of the 2025-26 and 2026-27 syllabus shows that the earlier MA curriculum had dedicated papers covering Punjab's history in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, besides the Guru period and Misls. The revised syllabus instead introduced more specialised, theme-based papers, including Modern Punjab (1849-1947 CE), anti-caste movements in Punjab and geography of Punjab. Priyatosh, a faculty member in the department of history, said the restructuring was linked to the change from the earlier three-year BA structure to the four-year undergraduate programme under NEP. "Earlier, in the three-year BA, there were two papers on Punjab. Now, under NEP, there is a four-year BA followed by a one-year MA, which is called the 4+1 system," he said. The papers proposed under the new structure included colonial formation of Punjab, colonial gaze, agrarian society, north-western routes, Sikh geography of Punjab, literary trends in Punjab, national movements in Punjab, and tribes and communities of North India. Priyatosh said the thematic papers would not be discarded, but would be used separately for students following the 4+1 structure. "The papers will remain. For students pursuing the two-year MA, the earlier syllabus will continue. Department chairperson Jasbir Singh said the issue would be taken up by the board of studies. "The students submitted a memorandum to me as well. The board of studies will be convened to resolve the issue," he said. "The revised syllabus will be uploaded on Monday. This is a sensitive issue, and we are revising the chapters keeping that in mind," he added....