Bengal school syllabus reset: Syama Prasad Mookerjee in, Singur out

The West Bengal Government is set to introduce a revised school curriculum from January 2, 2027. The new curriculum will include lessons on Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s life, contributions and legacy across school textbooks.

The changes are part of a broader syllabus overhaul being undertaken by the state’s Syllabus-cum-Curriculum Committee. Along with adding content on Mookerjee, the revised curriculum will remove chapters dealing with the Singur land movement and the Kanyashree scheme.

The syllabus will also see changes to prescribed literary works, while portions covering communism and the Mughal era are expected to be reduced.

West Bengal Education Minister Deepak Burman said the entire exercise was being handled by the syllabus committee and that he would examine the changes once the proposal reached him.

Professor Debashis Chatterjee, chairperson of the committee, said references to Syama Prasad Mookerjee would be introduced at the beginning of textbooks across classes. Mookerjee, a prominent Bengali leader, founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor of the Bharatiya Janata Party, in 1951.

According to the committee, the curriculum changes are intended to place greater emphasis on Indian culture, values and the contributions of freedom fighters.

The revised school curriculum is scheduled to come into effect across West Bengal from January 2, 2027.